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da  la  nattatt  da  l'axamplaira  filmt.  at  an 
conformit*  avac  ia*  conditiona  du  contrat  da 
nimaga. 


Original  copia*  in  rrintad  papar  covar*  ara  fllmad 
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tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  imprat- 
(ion,  or  tha  bacii  covar  whan  appropriata.  Ail 
othar  original  copia*  ara  fllmad  baginning  on  tha 
firit  paga  with  a  printad  or  iliuauatod  Impraa- 
tlon,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  impraaaion. 


Tha  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
ahaii  contain  tha  aymbol  — ^  Imaaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  Imaaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 


Laa  axampiairas  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
papiar  aat  imprimta  *ont  film!*  an  commancant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  »n  tarminant  *oit  par  la 
darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainte 
"I'lmprassion  ou  d'iilustration,  aoit  par  la  sscond 
plat,  aalo  i  la  ca*.  Tou*  las  autra*  axamplairas 
originaux  tont  fllmA*  an  commancant  par  la 
pramitra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'impra**ion  ou  d'iilu*tratlon  at  an  tarminant  par 
ia  darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  da*  aymbola*  *uivants  ipparaltra  *ur  la 
darnitra  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha,  salon  la 
cas:  la  symbola  — *-  signifia  "A  SUIVRE ',  ia 
aymbola  ▼  signifia  "FIN". 


Maps,  piatas,  charts,  ate.  may  ba  fllmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratio*.  Tho**  too  iarga  to  ba 
antiraly  includad  in  ona  axposura  ara  fllmad 
baginning  In  tha  uppar  laft  hand  cornar,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  a*  many  frama*  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrams  itiuatrata  tha 
mathod: 


Las  cartas,  pianchas,  tablaaux.  ate.  psuvant  ttre 
fiimts  1  da*  taux  da  rMuction  diffarant*. 
Lor*qua  la  documant  aat  trop  grand  pour  ttra 
raproduit  an  un  aaul  cllcht,  11  aat  fllmi  i  partir 
da  I'angia  suptriaur  gaucha,  da  gaucha  1  droits, 
at  da  haut  *n  baa,  an  pranant  1^  nombra 
d'imaga*  nica**aira.  La*  diagrammas  auivants 
llluatrant  la  mtthoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

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lANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2| 


1.0    Ifia  Ilia 

^^      !^  l«     11112.2 


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(716)  482  -  0300-  Phant 
('16)  298  -  5939  -  fo> 


HER    MAJESTY    QUEEN    VICTORIA 


THE 

TERCENTENARY 
HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

FROM  CF^AMPLAIN  TO  LAURIKR 
M  D  C  V  I  I  I  -  M  C  M  V  I  I  I 

IIY 

FRANK    BASIL   TRACY 

WITH     MANY      FILL-PAGE     ILLUSTRATIONS, 

PORTRAITS    ANP    MAPS   ESPECIALLV 

MADE    FOR    THIS    WORK 

VOLUME  II 


P.    F.    COLLIER    &    SON 

NEW  YORK  TORONTO 

Frinttd   In   ihi    U.  S.  A. 


Copyright  igoS 

By  r.  F.  COLLIER    &  SON 

Entered  ut  Slatioven'  Halt 

Mfif 
FC 

V.  3 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

THE    EXILE    OF    THE    ACADIANS 

'pHE  construction  of  Halifax  and  the  coming  Th,  o„h. 

*     of  Cornwalhs  begin  an  era  in  the  history  of'^'-s 
Acadia  which  ends  with  the  complete  pacification 
of  the  province  through  the  forcible  exile  of  the 
French  inhabitants.    It  is  an  almost  uninterruptible 
story,  and  for  that  reason  it  will  be  told  at  this  point 
although  ,     Its  telling  we  are  carried  several  years 
beyond  the  :)eriod  at  which  we  left  the  other  parts 
of  Canada,     The  coming  of  Cornwallis  marked  an 
era,  for  he  began  at  once  to  secure  a  renewal  of 
the  oath  of  allegiance  by  the  Acadians.     Twenty 
years  had  gone  since  this  oath  was  taken,  and  even 
tlien  the  oath  was  a  slipshod  affair,  easily  made  and 
not  difficult  to  break.  Cornwallis  reasoned  that  the 
new  generation  ought  to  be  compelled  to  take  an 
oath  which  should  really  mean  something.     Then 
arose  a  tumult  which   was  not  stilled  until  force 
was    resorted    to.      This   tumult    was    deliberately 
stirred  up  by  the  missionaries  and  priests  of  the 
Lhurch,  acting  under  the  counsel  of  the  govt  nor- 
general  of  Canada  and  encouraged  by  the  ministers 
of  the  king  at  Versailles.     Not  only  that,  but  La 
Jonqtiiere,  who  had  finally  reached  Quebec,  encour- .„di.„s.o 
aged  the  Indians  to  stir  up  trouble  with  the  En- '•'""' 
glish  at  Hahfax,  and  settlers  were  murdered  by""""' 
Canada  — I  Vol.  II 


-"-^---« 


Le  Loutrr. 
airem  <>t 
rliKord 


Till;    TliKClATF.XARY    lilSTOKY    OF    CAXADA 

these  savages  by  inspiration  from  white  Cliristians. 
The  main  agency  in  all  the  mutinies  hy  the  Aca- 
(lians  was  T,c  T.ontre.  vicar-general  of  French  Aca- 
dia,   whose    I  iwer   over   the     \cadians    was   only 
matched  by  his  fanatical  hatred  of  tlie  Enijjlish.  This 
priest,  of  course,  did  not  come  into  British  territory 
to  exert  his  wiles,  but  be  encouraged  all  Acadians 
be  could  reach  to  refuse  to  take  tlie  oath  of  al- 
legiance and  to  emigrate  to  Cape  Breton  or  Canada 
proper,  and  he  also  distributed  presents  among  the 
Indians,  including  powder  and  ball,  as  a  reward  of 
merit  for  murdering  English  settlers  about  Halifa.x. 
All  this  time  France  and  England  were  at  ])Cacc. 
and  the  astounding  villainy  of  such  action  completely 
destroys  any   sympathy   which   fair-minded  people 
might  feel  for  France  at  this  time  of  ber  drooping 
fortunes.     The  result  of  this   insistence  of  Corn- 
wallis  that  an  oath  he  taken,  and  the  urgency  of 
the  French  priests  and  the  French  oflacers  that  no 
oath  be  taken,  was  that  two  years  after  Cornwallis 
arrived  2,000  .\cadians  had  left  their  lands  and  set- 
tled in  Cape  Breton  and  lie  St.  Jean,  now  Prince  Ed- 
ward Island,  and  a  sorrowful  time  they  had.    On  the 
latter  island  lived  one  priest,  Girard,  who  while  in 
Acadia  refused  to  attempt  to  prejudice  the  farmers 
against  the  king  or  to  violate  his  oath  of  allegiance. 
Themurder      One  pest  spot  Coriiwallis  found  was  Beaubassin, 
How?""  'hat  post  from   which   Rigaud   set  out  to  capture 
the  English  at  Grand  Pre.     It  was  at  the  head  of 
Chignecto   Bay  and  just   across  the   line  dividing 
the  English  from  the  French,  but  on  Engli-h  soil. 
From   it   proceeded   all   sorts   of   disturb      .   both 
Canadians  and  Micmacs,  and  its  occupation  by  the 
English  was  determined  upon  in  the  spring  of  1850. 
384 


THF.   EXILE   OF    .HE   ACADIANS 

Le  Loiitre  was,  of  course,  at  hand,  and  when  he  saw 
that  the  English  wore  sure  to  take  the  town  he  so'  fire 
to  the  parish  church  and  drove  or  i)ersuadcd  several 
Acadians  across  the  river.     The  English  force  was 
insufficient   to  hold  the  i)osition  and   so<in  reti.cd. 
The  following  fall,  however,  a  stronger  force  was 
sent,  ni.  J  occupied  it  permanently.     It  was  then  that 
Captain  Edward  Howe  of  the  Er-^lish  army  was 
murdered  by  Indians  pretending  to  carry  a  flag  of 
truce.     Howe  spoke  French,  and  was  popular  with 
iTench  and  Canadians,  and  his  murder  was  ascribed 
by  English  and  I-rench  alike  to  Le  Loutre's  machina- 
tions.    Me  denied  it.  however,  as  did  his  brother 
missionary.     In   facts  the  stories  about  the  afTair 
dififer  widely.     While  the  English  were  fortifying  For, 
Beaubassin,  Quebec  was  sending  fresh   forces  and  """^J""' 
building   Fort   Beausejour   y:^,   opposite.     In   this""" 
latter  work  the  .\cadians  were  used  ruthlessly  and 
mercile.ssly.    Such  treatment,  so  opposite  to  that  of  the 
English,  ou-ht  to  have  changed  their  at'itude    but 
their  hrams  were  like  cabbages,  and  they  continued 
to  slave  for  the  French— miserable  and  perplexed 

The  ne.xt  .spring  c„  .,e  the  proelam  ition  of  La  Jon-  La 
quiere,  governor  of  Canada,  which  strips  him  of '°"''"'*"'» 
every  vestige  of  neutrality.     He  demanded  that  all  u™"'""" 
Acadians  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  tc  France  and 
enroll  themselves  in  the  French  milit.a,  or  L.  de- 
clared rebels.     This  remarkable  proclamation  was 
never  withdrawn  or  disavowed.     It  played  the  mis- 
chief with  the  Acadians,  or,  rather,   it  completed 
the  n.ischief  which   Le   Loutrc  had  begun.     But 
stran.gely  enough,  the  easy-going  English  took  no 
notice  of  It,  and  i;  was  not  until  three  years  later  that 
the  governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  then  Lawrence,  issued 
385 


I.4wrenc 

Ur.tr 

countcr- 

procUmft 

tlon 


The 

limatiun 

ominout 


TIIK    Ti:RCr:NTr.\ARV    history    of    CAN-ADA 
■■.wh.-.t   could   har.lly  Ix-  called   a  counter-procla.na 

uh,  had  taken  .he  oath  of  lidelUy  ,„  the  k.ng  of 
G  ca  l)r,.a,n  a,„l  should  be  found  in  anm  against 
h.n  would  be  regarded  as  cri.ninals.  Meanwhile 
tl  e  ,>oor  Acdians  at  Uoauscjour  greiv  uearv  of 
labortng  for  the  French  and  secre.l/aske,!  ,h  '.Cn- 
gbsh  how  they  coMid  get  back.     They   were  told 

tlm. hey  cottld  return  if, hey  wouI.-L, he  <: 
of  allegiance  to  Great   Rritain,  it       ,„g  orallv  u,i 
derstood  that  they  should  no.  be  aske.t  to  tl  e'  p 
arn>s  a,  least  for  the  present.     Le  L,>utre  at  once 

c  Z '"^n",  ""■  ","?'""'  ""'"  "■'■"-■  --on-uni- 
tha  .  e;er.  Cornwalhs  had  called  him  -a  good-for- 
K..l.,ng  ..:co„ndreI,"  and  ofTered  £,oo  for  hi.",  ead. 
an  ofife  succee.hng  Knglish  governors  were  un- 
doubtedly glad  to  renew. 

Fort    Beansejour   continued   to   be   strcntrthcne.l 

Acad.ans  on  Enghsh  soil.  The  situation  began  to 
look  more  an<l  more  ominous  to  the  English  esne- 
c.a  ly  suKe  the  Acadians,  who  had  gone^ac  oss  t'  e 
ne  ,„,o  what  we  now  call  New  Brunswick  and  to 
He  St.  Jean,  were  not  .satisfied  and  otily  hungered 
o  return  home.  Governor  Lawrence,  at  Hahfrx 
became  convmced  that  only  a   forward  moveme.n 

he  French  from  Reausejotn-  upon  Acadia.  He  1k.- 
.eved  the  Acadians  would  play  false  to  the  EnglS, 
and  would  ass.st  the  French  in  taking  the  province 
The  thn,g  to  do  was  to  take  Beansejour,  the  centre 
o  a„tat,on.  But  he  ha.l  not  enough  force  to  d" 
th,s.  So  he  sent  Lientenant-Colonel  Monckton  to 
386 


I 


THE    EXILE   UK   THE   ACAUIANS 

Boston    that  he  might  present  the  needs  an.l  perils  sM„.,„a 
ot  Aca.lia  to  ilic  always  Iwliigerciit  Shirley      Un- "'"''°' 
.luuhtedly  this  j.nirney  was  rcspons.hlc  for  'the  mis- 
chief which  iiltunately  came.     I„  fact,  the  more  we 
search  into  these  Aca.han  records  the  more  firmly 
.lo  wc  come  to  believe  that  it  war,  hy  the  persistent 
urgings  of  Shirley  and  other  Mass.iclnisetts  lead- 
ers tiiat  the  Nova  Scutian  government  came  to  take 
Its  hnal  .Irastic  anion,  althoiigl,  only  ;,  f^w  years  he- 
f.>re   .7^,6  11.  answer  to  the  Acadians'  ap|K..al  to  hin., 
Shirley  ha.l  sworn  i,i  a  puhlic  proclamalinn  llial  tliev 
should  not  I.C  disturbed.    It  must  he  note.l  that  there 
we  are  going  ahtad  of  our  main  narr.itive.     By  this 
""'c.  1/55,  lingland  and  France  were  j.ractically  at 
war  in  America,  and  this  expedition  against  .\cadia 
was  but  one  of  the  four  general  movements  planne  ' 
for  that  year  by  the  English  in  North  America  at 
the  only  successful  one.     The  most  spectacular  wa 
Braddocks  against  Fort  lJu<,uesne,  which  ended  in 
his  overwhelming  defeat  and  death. 

Massachusetts  raised  reaiily  the  2,000  men  for 
this  ex,>edition  to  Acadia.  'he  troops  sailed  on 
Alay  .'2.  1755.  and  on  June  ist  anchored  in  the 
Bay  of  Chignecto.  Of  this  force  Monckton  was 
leader,  with  John  Winslow  of  Massachusetts  second 
m  command.  The  colonial  troops  were  joined  hy  the 
English  regulars  from  Halifax,  aiul  on  June  411,  the 
attack  began. 

Fort  Beaiisejour  was  commanded  by  Duchamhon  b«„^,„„, 
ae  Vergor.  who  .somewhat  shared  the  responsibility'^"' 
with  tl-.e  irrepressible  Lc  Loutre.  Vergor  was  like 
many  French-Canadian  officials-<orrupt  and  easily 
frightened.  Although  a  captain  in  the  French 
anny,  he  did  very  little  to  prepare  for  defense 
387 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

co'^^div    ^f  Y^"  !"'  '^°  '■'^"'"'■'  '^"^^  "^<=  2,000  Massa- 
c=mmand,r  chusetts  volunteers  facing  them  they  lost  courage 
To  help  them  were  about  100  frightened  peasants 
and  a  few  Indians.     Louisbourg  was  appealed  to 
for  ajd,  but  sent  back  word  that  it  was  impossible. 
The  Engl,.1,  forces  began  getting  their  cannon  in 
place  and  threw  ,nto  the  fort  a  few  shells.    A  party 
sent  out  from  the  fort  to  intercept  an  advance  guard 
of  t.ie  English  was  driven  back  in  confusion.     The 
French  fired  wildly,  but  seemed  safe  enough  in  their 
stronghokr     Fortunately  for  the  English,  however, 
a  sheh  fdl  mto  the  fort  and  exploded,  killing  =ix 
irench  officers  and  wounding  others.    Vergor  grew 
panic-stricken  and,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  be- 
siegers, raised  a  white  flag  over  the  fort.     This  led 
to  a  parley  and  at  length  to  surrender.     The  gar- 
n.on  was  allowed  to  march  out  with  the  prover- 
bial honors  of  war,  and  was  sent  to  Louisbourg 
under  a  promise  to  bear  no  arms  in  America  for 
tThr°t'-   /''^^'^^dians  there  were  adjudged 
to  have  been  forced  into  the  fight  and  were  allowed 
to  go  home  unpunished,  and  loaded  with  plunder 
from  the  fort.     The  French  officers  led  in  Te  pe- 
lage and  could  hardly  be  torn  away  to  march  out. 
And  so  It  came  about  that  at  seven  o'clock  on  the 
evening  of  June  16,  whose  morning  saw  a  lucky 
shell   fall  into   Fort   Beausejour,  the   Union  Jack 
floated  from  its  summit. 

l:.^Z.  ,/"'  ;^^"^  l^'  Le  Loutre?    That  worthy  feared 

i„ve.        he  might  get  his  ..tst  deserts  and  fled.     He  made 

A^c,      ^"  ^«y  .t°  Quebec,  where  the  chroniclers  say  he 

was  reprimanded  by  his  bishop,  which  was  a  mild 

form  of  punishment.    Canada  did  not  seem  a  g.xxi 

field  tor  him.  so  he  decided  to  return  to  France  Bad 


THE  EXILE  OF  THE  ACADIANS 
luck  was  now  surely  after  him,  for  on  his  voyatre 
lie  was  captured  by  the  Englisl,,  who  kept  hhn  a 
prisoner  for  eight  years  on  the  island  of  Jersey 
almost  within  sight  of  home.  It  would  k  iaterest- 
ing  to  learn  the  reflections  of  that  man  as  he  paced 
his  way  back  and  forth  on  that  island,  thought 
of  the  hfe  he  had  led.  and  learned  of  the  catas- 
trophes that  came  to  the  Acadians  and  to  all  the 
l^rench  in  .\merica. 

priest  s  actions  and  policy.  The  only  plea  ever  ad-»'-'- 
vanced  for  him  that  I  liave  been  able  to  find  is  that 
he  believed  the  English  were  bent  on  proselytizing 
the  Acadian  peasants  and  destroying  their  attach- 
ment to  their  church.  Little,  if  any^  basis  existeo 
for  this  fear,  but  ,t  was  apparently  sufficient,  in  Le 
Loutre  s  mind,  together  with  the  conflict  over  ter- 
ritorial boundaries,  to  make  him  a  bitter,  fierce 
tanat.c,  and  to  involve  his  people  in  terrible  suffer- 
ings and  exile. 

That  word  "exile."  just  used,  brings  us  to  a  recita- 
.on  of  the  specific  and  gradual  steps  by  xvhich  the 
banishment  of  the  Acadians  was  then  accomplished 
111  T'''.^°'f^'  *!'•-"  ^"y  '•eader  of  this  history t.c 
we  e  learning  from  it.  for  the  first  time,  the  story --ishe. 
of  the  e.xile  of  the  Acadians,  one  can  not  help  won-'""" 
dering  what  his  feelings  would  be  on  coming  upon 
hjs  hint  of  the  approaching  expulsion;  alLS 
a  hint  has  been  given  before  in  an  indefinite  man- 
ner.    1  believe  he  would  be  astonished— so  utterly 
unexpected   in   historical   sequence  and   repugnant 
to  our  common  ideals  of  right  such  an  act  would 
seem  to  him. 

But,   lest   I  .seem   to   prejudge  the  case   to  any 
389 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
reader,   let  us  pass  directly  to  the  historical  pre- 
^  sentation,  first  going  back  a  little  while 

.r/rj;  ^    When  Monckton  and  his  forces  were  on  the  way 
iw™,  ^i  'f  j;   Beausejour,   Governor  Lawrence  deter- 
mined to  seize  the  occasion  to  deprive  the  Aca- 
dians  o    their  arms.     He  did  this  by  strategy,  and 
got  hold  of  several  hundre.l  muskets.    Exacfiy  why 
he  dK  .h..s  and  the  things  which  follow  we  cJn  nol 
at  tins  distance  know.     It  is  necessary  from  this 
point  onward  to  proceed  very  carefully,  that   we 
may  do  no  mjustice  either  to  this  man  or  the  Aca- 
dians.      It   IS  probable   that   he   feared   that   these 
Acadians  might  use  their  arms  to  assist  the  French 
m  the  coming  or  present  siege  of  Beausejour.    That 
was  a  justifiable  fear  according  to  the  way  he  b^ 
l.eved  they  had  hitherto  acted.    At  any  rate  he  i.ot 

Haliburton    the  must,  fo       T*  ;„     ■        -a  ■'  ^  &°'- 

'•""^  M,T  .  ;  V  ''^•'^'=='"t  'o  <l"ote  Haliburton  at 
this  point,  for  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  English 
authors  who  dealt  with  this  episode.  Regarding 
Lawrence's  demand  for  these  muskets,  hf  savs 
These  orders  were  complied  with  in  a  manner 
which  might  certainly  have  convinced  the  Tver^ 
r:reSn'^^''-^'^"°-^-^'"-'-o?ry 

We  know  that  at  the  siege  of  Beausejour  a  few 
Acadians  were    ound  fighting  with  the  French,  Z 

forced''-?'!^^''  "^y  ''''  ^"^''=h  as  having  bee, 
forced    into   this   service.     While    at    Beauseiour 

i:TTfuTV°'"  ^'"^"^^  "^  Ma'sSs:"  s 
wrote.  ,n  a  letter  home,  that  he  was  glad  to  hear 
that  expulsion  had  been  determined  upon 

A  short  time  after  the  capture  of  Beausejour  depu- 
tes from  the  districts  of  Grand  Pre  and  the  uTnl 
Basin,  from  which  the  arms  had  been  taken,  ^e 
390 


THE   EXILE   OF   THE   ACADIAXS 
before  the  governor  and  presented  a  petition  ask-  rh= 
ing  that  the  arms  be  returned.    This  petition  recited  ^"'"""' 
that  these  muskets  were  necessary,  that  without  them^.rl';' 
wild  beasts  roammg  about  were  perils  to  life  and 
to  their  property.     It  recited  other  circumstances 
of  their  unfortunate  condition,  and  askod  that  they 
again  be  allowed  to  use  their  canoes  for  trading— 
a  prohibition  caused  by  the  charge  that  some  of 
them  had  taken  supplies  to  the  French  in  that  way 
i'nrkman  and   English   historians  assert  that   this 
memorial  was  offensive  to  the  governor  and  his 
council,  and  imply  that  the  deputies  were  insolent 
in  their  demands.    I  confess  I  can  not  see  any  in- 
solence in  this  memorial.     Here  it  is  as  translated 
from  the  archives  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  as  this  me-  D^r„, 
monal  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  deportation  it?""°' 
IS  worthy  the  examination  of  every  student  of  his- "^Po.,uo„ 
tory  and  lover  of  fair  play  : 

"To  His  Excdlcncy,  Charles  Lawrence.  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia,  etc.,  etc 
biR— We,  the  inhabitants  of  Mines,  Pirieuit   and  the 

fe'lZ  ^T\'''"'  "-^  '""^^'y  °f  approaching  ;o„"   Ex 

reThich'the Vr'"""  °*  '""'^'"8  °-  -""  °f  'h« 
care  which  the  Government  exercises  over  us 

It  appears    sir,  that  your  Excellency  doubts  the  sin- 

Sn„rM:£!;.^^ '-- '--'-'  *«  ^^  ^^^^^^^ 

"We  most  humbly  beg  your  Excellency  to  consider  our 
past  conduct.     You  will  see  that,  very  far  from  vioTattng 
the  oath  we   have  taken,   we  have  maintained   it  in   itf 
en  rety,   ,„   sp,t     of  the   solicitations   and   the  dreadfu 
hreats  of  another   power.      We   still   entertain,    sir    the 

TcLT  '"'^   """'t  '"'P°='"''"  'o   P™-^'  ""der  any 
c.rcunista„ces,  our  unshaken  fidelity  to  his  Maiestv   pro- 
vided that  his   Majesty  shall  allow'  us  the  same  lib^  ty 
that  he  has  granted  us.     V\-e  earnestly  beg  your  Excel 
391 


T«t 
of  the 
memorial 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

lency  to  have  the  goodness  to  inform  us  of  his  Majesty's 
intentions  on  this  subject,  and  to  give  us  assurances  on 
his  part. 

"Permit   us,    if  you    please,    sir,   to   make   known   the 
annoying  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed,  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  tranquillity  we  ought  to  enjoy.     Under 
pretext  that  we  are  transporting  our  corn  or  other  pro- 
visions to  Beaus^jour  and  the  River  St.  John,  we  are  no 
longer  permitted  to  carry  the  least  quantity  of  corn  by 
water  from  one  place  to  another.     We  beg  your  Excel- 
lency to  be  assured  that  we  have  never  transported  pro- 
visions to  Beausijour  or  to  the  River  St.  John.      If  some 
refugee   inhabitants   from    Btaus^jour   have    been    seized 
with  cattle,  we  are  not,  on  that  account,  by  any  means 
guilty,  inasmuch  as  the  cattle  belonged  to  them  as  private 
individuals,  and  they  were  driving  them  to  their  respective 
habitations.    As  to  ourselves,  sir,  we  have  never  offended 
in  that  respect;  consequently,  we  ought  not,  in  our  opin- 
ion, to  be  punished;  on  the  contrary,  we  hope  that  your 
Excellency  will  be  pleased  to  restore  to  us  the  same  lib- 
erty that  we  enjoyed  formerly,  in  giving  us  the  use  of 
our  canoes,  either  to  transport  our  provisions  from  one 
river  to  anothc-,  or  for  the  purpose  of  fishing;  thereby 
providing  for  our  livelihood.    This  permission  has  never 
been  taken  from  us  except  at  the  present  time.    We  hope 
sir,  that  you  will  be  pleased   to  restore  it,   specially  in 
consideration  of  the   number  of  poor   inhabitants,   who 
would  be  very  glad   to  support  their  families  with   the 
hsh  that  they  would  be  able  to  catch.     Moreover,  our 
pns,   which  we  regard  as  our  own  personal  property 
have  been  taken  from  us,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
they  are  absolutely  necessary  to  us,  either  to  defend  our 
cattle,  which  are  attacked  by  the  wild  beasts,  or  for  the 
protection  of  our  children  and  of  ourselves.     Any  inhab- 
itant who  may  have  his  oxen  in  the  woods,  and  who  may 
need  .ftem  for  purposes  of  labor,  would  not  dare  to  expose 
himself  in  going  for  them  without  being  prepared  to  de- 
fend himself.     It  is  certain,   sir,  that  since  the  Indians 
have  ceased  frequenting  our  parts,  the  wild  beasts  have 
greatly  increased,  and   that  our  cattle  are  devoured  by 
them  almost  every  day.     Besides,  the  arms  which  have 

J92 


J 

I 


THE   EXILE   OF   THE  ACADIANS 

foieli.v'"'n  ''°"'  "i  "'  ''"'  *  *'^'''^  euarante.  of  our 
tha  win  'I  "°l""  «""  "''''^''  =""  '"habitant  possesses 
that  will  mduce  h.m  to  revolt,  nor  the  privation  of  the 
same  gun  that  wll  make  him  more  faithful;  but  his  con' 
science  alone  must  induce  him  to  maintain  his  oath.  An 
Fnrt  pJ"  'f  ?'"'  '"  y°"  E'tcellency's  name,  given  at 

to  car^v".l;  •"'"f  t'  '^"'  ^'  ""'*  "'<=  -<=  cim^manded 
to  carry  guns,  pistols,  etc.,  etc.,  to  Fort  Edward  It  ao- 
pears  to  us,  s,r,  that  it  would  be  dangerous  for  us  to  exe- 
wht  this"  o^H  '''""  -P-^-'i"g  'o  you  the  dangerto 
InH  L  .  'J  ^''P"'"  "'■  The  Indians  may  come 
and  threaten  and  plunder  us,  reproaching  us  for  having 
furnished  arms  to  kill  them.  We  hope,  sir  tha°  you  w"n 
be  pleased,  on  the  contrary,  to  order  tha    thise      ken  from 

means  of'n^:^  '""'-^r  »  ''"'"^  ^^  -ill  afford  us  th" 
means  of  preserving  bof.  ourselves  and  our  cattle. 

srlv«  i  1  ^'i  ^  ?■  "'^  ^"^  8;rieved,  sir,  at  seeing  our- 
oblved  n"  f  "^  ""u''°"'  ''''"e  aware  of  havin^g  dU- 
nSpi.?r.  M  1  °"'  '"''^''"^"'^  °f  'he  River  Canard, 
of  his  bo  t  hlf  r°"'  T  '"'"<"  ='"<'  ^"""^d  '"  charge 
sort  of  tr",  '  \\r"?  ^'"'^  ""y  °"^"  forbidding  that 

ec  to  b»  "Th  ^\^'^  y™'  Excellency,  on  this  sub- 
ject   to  have  the  goodness  to  make  knovvn  to  us  vour 

ar^^veTyVeT^ec^fillir'"'""  "'™'  "'"""^  '""  '"''  ^ 
"Sir,  your  very  humble  and  obedient  servants." 

it  Jvi^T'V-'  '^'^'^"^  '"''  '^'■'"■^"^  h^^  "'ithitiT,. 
L    '^'"  °*  '"d'gnation.     It  may  have  been  full  ofr'""" 
falsehoods,  but  its  terms  are  respectful  ar,d  devoui    "°"' 
ot  offense  except  to  those  who  were  seeking  offense 
Governor  Laurence  and  his  council  really  seem  to 
belong  to  the  latter  class.     The  governor  lost  his 
head,  and  replied  to  the  memorial  with  hot  word 
he  declared  that  they  had  not  been  faithful  subjects, 
393 


Tbedie 
is  cast 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
but  traitors,  and  he  concluded  his  lashing  of  them 
wjth   a   demand   that   they   al!   take  the  oath   o^ 
a  legmnce.    They  flatly  refused  .o  do  this,  inasmuch 
as   hey  had  not  come  there  for  that  purpose.    Tl  e 
matter  was  d.scussed  again  and  again  and  still  the 
deputies  refused  until  Lawrence  in  a    age  dSi  ed 
they  vyere  no  longer  British  subjects,  bu' S,^ 
Then  they  grew  frightened  and  iffer^d  to  Uk^the 
oath.     Lawrence  told  them  that  they  were  too  late 
But  he  demanded  that  they  go  home  and  send  o  her 
deputies  who  should  get  the  sense  of  theX^e  on 
the  matter  of  taking  the  oath  and  comeThim 

th  s  tzL:  T  r'''""°"- ''  --  ''<>-.-" 

the  Ac.d'^ans  ;f'r^  >-epresenti„g  nine-tenths  of 

WHY    THEY    WOULD    NOT    TAKE    THE    OATH 

Why  did  they  not  take  the  oath?    That  is  the  first 

clithcult.     To-day  takmg  oaths  is  sweet  pleasure 
smce   ,ne  may  perjure  himself  like  a  gentleman  and 

noVranUo  t'T"'    'l!' '''''  '^^'^  ^^^ 
not  want  to  take  an  oath  only  to  break  it.     The  old 

oath  was  accompanied  by  an  agreement,  sometL  s 
oral,  sometimes  written,  that  they  should  not  te 
compelled  to  bear  arms.     This  oath  had  no    uch 
provision,  and  m  addition  to  the  word  "fidelity"  i^ 
contained  the  word  "allegiance  "  whirh  .hi^  a     J 
-r^^  Jo".ht  meant   so^.^uT^^^Ll'tJi' ^::tZ 
oon.uio„       .ought,  or  affected  to  think,  that  their  hesitation  re- 
sulted from  disloyalty.    I  am  not  convinced.    These 
Acadians  were  very  like  the  habitants  of  Quebe 
to-aay.    They  felt  no  warmth  for  Great  Britain,  to 
394 


THE   EXILE  OF  THE   ACADIANS 
be  sure,  but  they  were  not  loyal  to  France  either 
They  were  loyal  to  themselves,  and  they  wanted 
most  of  all    to  be  let  alone.     Their  religion  drew 
them  toward  France,  but  that  force  was  not  stronjr 
enough  to  make  them  commit  overt  acts  of  disloy 
alty  to  the  crown.     But  Lawrence  had  persuaded  l.,„„c.. 
hmiself   that  these   cabbage-headed  peasants   were""°°' 
going  to  take  arms  against  the  English  and  aid  the 
French  mvaders.     He  knew  that  the  great  conflict 
was  coming  on,  in  which  no  neutrals  could  be  per- 
mitted, and  he  believed  that  if  Great  Britain  had 
secret  enemies  in  Acadia  it  might  mean  a  fearful 
catastrophe  to  British  arms  when  the  real  warfare 
was  on.    That  sounds  hke  good  argument,  but  there 
are  some  evidences  that  it  was  not.     If  it  had  been 
made  when  the  French  were  moving  toward  Acadia 
It  might  have  been  well,  but  to  make  it  after  a  great 

uffj'T"^'  ^**"  *^  "^'"f  disturber,  Le  Loutre,  a„  „^, 
nad   tied  the  country,  and  even   Louisbourg  was^"""' 
afifnglited,  seems  to  be  the  act  of  an  unwise  or 
panic-stricken  man.     And  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  refusal  of  the  Acadians  to  take  the  oath  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  distrusted  and  feared  not 
e.reat  Britain,  but  the  governor.    It  is  true,  for  six 
years,  they  had  been  asked  to  take  that  oath    and 
yet  Lawrence's  predecessor,   Hopson,  had  not  in- 
sisted upon  it,  but  had  by  waiving  it  become  very 
popular  with  them.    Had  his  health  not  broken  down 
the  horrible  sequence  would  probably  never  have 
occurred.     Certain  it  is  that  now  was  not  the  time 
tor  such  arbitrary  measures.    British  rule  has  oftai 
been  too  mild.    If  the  British  authorities  in  Acadia 
tad  from  the  very  first  insisted  upon  a  strict  oath, 
they  would  have  had  plenty  of  trouble,  but  it  would 


THE    TERCENTENARY    ItlSTORV    OF    CANADA 

uVoTg,..,!!.'^'^  P^'^  'f"!°^'^  '"  ""^  long  n,„.     But,  jt-st  as 

Briuin       liladstonc   <bd    in    South   Africa,   .ind   the   United 

States  in  the  Philippines,  they  compromised,  and 

that  action  left  its  legacy  of  misery  to  the  Acadians 

and  a  cloud  upon  Great  Britain. 

THE    ARGUMENTS    PRO   AND    CON 

This  isn't  to  say  that  the  situation  was  not  difficult 
It  was  difficult  and  perplexing.     It  isn't  pleasant  to 
be  ruling  a  country,  once  under  another  sovereign 
which  you  suspect  of  being  more  loyal  to  the  formei^ 
than  to  the  present  power.    It  makes  one  restless  at 
night.     But  the  situation  in  Acadia  was  no  more 
difficult  than  it  had  been,  and  in  fact  it  was  really 
easier.     Indeed,   the   fall  of  Beausejour  ought   to 
have  shown  Lawrence  that  the  best  policy  was  to  bear 
with  the  Acadians  until  he  could  afford  to  be  inde- 
pendent of  them.     The  argument  that  he  could  not 
hold  Beausejour  because  the  New  Englan.lers  would 
soon  be  going  home,  and  then  the  French  would 
swarm    upon    the    country,  is   not   good,  although 
Parkman  and  other  historians  use  it.     Those  New 
Englanders  would  have  stayed  a  year  if  need  were 
and  Lawrence  could  have  got  enough  aid  from  Eng- 
and  to  hold  the  fort.     Besides,  French  power  in 
that  district  was  clearly  shattered. 

Vet,  granting  all  these  arguments  for  argument's 
sake— grant  that  the  Acadians  were  not  loyal  and 
might,  or  even  would,  assist  the  enemy  in  case  of 
Expulsion  war-expulsion  was  a  terrible  blunder,  a  frightful 
„,.„.,  non  scqmtur.  It  was  not  an  alternative.  It  was 
foreign  to  the  worst  type  of  barbarism  wliich  En- 
glish-speaking peoples  practised  in  those  days.  The 
poor  Acadians  declared  again  and  again,  when  Corn- 

39fi 


i  THE  EXILE  OF  THE  ACADIANS 

wallis  was  governor,  that  they  had  asked  permission 
to  leave  because  they  would  not  take  the  oath  and 
he  had  refused  to  let  them  go  (and  the  Lords  of 
J  rade  of  England  admitted  it).    Now  they  were  to 
be  driven  out.     It  was  not  only  a  mistake,  but  a 
confession  of  brutality  or  incompetency.    Lawrence 
could  not  handle  his  people.     He  was  not  able  to 
solve  his  problem.     Instead  of  trying  to  do  it    he 
turned  tad  and,  resorting  to  strategy,  got  these  .in-wb.„ 
suspecting  people  into  stockades  and  then  drove  them  ■I'^port.iion 
from  the  country.     Deportation  is  -ustifiable  only "'""'"""" 
in  actual  warfare  and  in  great  crises.     Nothing  of 
the  sort  was  present.    Lawrence  had  blundered  into 
a  false  position.     Now  he  was  going  to  make  it 
infinitely  worse  by  carrying  out  his  threat.     They 
ought  certainly  to  have  taken  the  oath,  but  their 
wrong  did  not  excuse  his  greater  wrong. 

Where  did  he  get  his  orders?     Nowhere.     It  is 
hinted  in  contemporaneous  documents  that  Governor 
Shirley  of  Massachusetts  first  suggested  deporta- 
tion to  Lawrence.     If  so,  he  must  bear  a  heavy 
onus.     But  so  far  as  authorization  is  concerned  a  The 
sentence  from  a  despatch  from  ihe  Lords  of  Trade  ="«"•>> 
to  the  eflect  that  the  Acadians  should  have  „c  title  ^".■■^„., 
to  their  land   if  they  did  not  take  the  oath  was '"'"»"«" 
Lawrence's  only  warrant.  Yet  even  the  Lord-  never 
dreamed  of  sending  these  poor  people  out  upon  the 
world  in  such  a  heartless  manner.    That  Lawrence 
feared  that  he  couldn't  get  their  authority  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that,  although  in  the  three  months 
from  the  time  of  the  ordering  of  deportation  until 
It  was  completed,  he  sent  several  despatches  to  Eng- 
land, in  none  of  them  did  he  tell  definitely  what  was 
m  his  mind.    Yet  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  know 
397 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 

!;»:"""  'r"*  ""'  ''''"8^ ''""  ^°"«  '^••eat  Britain  would  never 
biund«cj  oisavow  It.  And  it  saddens  all  lovers  of  Great 
Britain  to  find  that  she  did  not  disavow  it  On  the 
whole,  I  prefer  to  l«;lieve  that  Lawrence  simply 
blundered  into  this  terrible  wrong.  I  ,lo  not  ac- 
cept the  Acadian  explanation  that  he  deliberately 
planned  the  whole  thing  in  order  to  profit  by  the 
cattle  and  lands  of  the  exiles.  Rough,  hasty 
cniel,  and  blundering  as  he  was,  I  do  not  believe 
he  was  a  monster. 

THE    ACT    OF    EXPULSION 

The  story  of  what  followed  upon  Lawrence's  deci- 
sion is  not  a  pleasant  one,  and  it  shall  be  told  as 
briefly  as  possible  with  none  of  the  heartrending 
details.    Orders  were  sent  to  Monckton  at  Beause- 
w.„„„„..  jotir  to  "roun.l  up"  those  Aeadians  near  there,  and 
.-   .       to  Join  W  inslow  and  Murray  to  grab  the  remainder. 
W  inslow  was  at  Beausejour  when  the  order  came 
and  he  proceeded  at  once  to  Grand  Pre.    The  task 
before  him  was  one  that  he  did  not  seek.     Murray 
was  to  corral  the  human  cattle  about  Fort  Edward. 
Ihe  first  thing  Winslow  did  was  to  build  a  stockade 
After  a  survey  of  the  region,  he  sent  out  a  summons 
to  the  inhabitants  to  appear  at  the  Grand  Pre  Church 
on  September  5.     The  poor  fellows  who  did  not 
know  any  better  than  to  obey  came  in  to  the  number 
of  418  men.    When  he  got  them  in  the  church  he 
made  them  his  speech  in  this  wise : 

cl^e^^Ir^f^"''^    ''"t  ""'"^^    f™™    his    Excellency, 
Governor    Lawrence,    the    king's    instructions,    which    I 

to   hM"r  7-     ."/■■    ^^  ^'"  °"^"'  >">"  ^--^  "»^d  together 
to   hear   h.s   Majesty's   final   resolution    concerning   the 

398 


half. 


THE   EXILE   OF  THE   ACADIANS 
Frtnch  inhabitants  of  this  hi,  province  of  Novi  Scotia  win., 
grantcl  them  than  any  of  his  subjects  in  anv    ,art  of  l"  "■"'-". o" 

^Tt'know:     "' "" '°"  ^'"'' ""''  °f "  >  ■  ^"--1 '"  '■''"'  "'• 

AiJ^^  ''m*'  '  '""  ""*  "P""'  """'8''  necessary,  is  vei> 
disagreeable  to  my  natural  make  and  temper,  as  I  know 
U  must  bo  grievous  to  you,  who  are  of  the  same  peci^* 
But  .t  ,s  not  my  bus.ness  to  animadvert  on  the  order,  I 

.n"'rr.a'nt'whicr:rrthTyo;:rtid"^''j"''^""^°"' 
a.^«.,.e.<,,e3.o^p'^;Ss':?ff:;^,;:z*;i:: 

moved  from  this  his  province  "  <=  lo  oe  re- 

,h"?^  P^i-^Ptory  orders  of  his  Majesty  are  that  all 
he  French  mhabitants  of  these  districts  be  removed    and 

louX  ,,"  !^"r^''  ^""'""^  I  =""  directed  "allow 
you  the  liberty  of  carrying  with  you  your  money  and  a^ 

o7erUi';the''°""']°"  """"^  ^' ^°"  can  take'w^  hou 

this  removal   which  I  am  sensible  must  give  yo  ■'  a  e  ea 

I  must  also  inform  you  that  it  is  his  Majesty's  pleasure 

what  he  satd.     They  were,  moreover,  peaceful  and  '""* 
rave  Wtnslow  Httle  trouble,  except  ai  heart   where 
ndeed  he  was  ,11     Similar  scenes  were  gotng  on   „ 
the  other  parts  of  the  peninsula,  except  that  in  some 
399 


THE    TRRCE.VTEN'ARY    IirSTORY    OF    CANADA 

"::":°".^''"'";''e  -^^adians  escape-l  in  consi,I,ral,le  numbers 

i; "■' ""  '"  f  f*'^  ''^>-''  Winslow  had  fue  hundred  prisoners' 

—      and  only  three  hnndre.l  n,en  to  puar.l  then^Tn 
ess  than  a  week,  however,  he  got  them  into  three 
transports  that  had  come  from  Boston.     The  men 
at  first   refused  to  go.  thinking  they  were  to  he 
separated  from  their  families,  hut  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet  they  yielded  and  went  on  board     Wins- 
low  put  them  thus  out  of  the  way,  fearins  they 
m.Rht  n.se.    The  ox-like,  innocent  charr.cter  of  the« 
people  could  not  be  better  seen  than  in  this  docility 
Had   they   been   dogs   they  could   not   have   acted 
l<et  er     But.  with  these  men  must  r-o  their  families, 
ami  these  could  not  be  sent  until  more  transports 
arrived.    These  were  delayed,  and  much  wretched- 
ness ensued.     It  was  not  until  October  8  that  the 
T.::T"  %f  embarkation  actually  tock  place  at  Grand  Pre. 

mat  was  a  sad  scene— women   wailing,  children 

crymg.  and  men  torn  with  sorrow  and  anger  There 
was  great  confusion  too.  and  the  harsh  commands  of 
the  officers  dm  not  soften  the  noises.  Winslow  did 
better  than  any  other  commander,  his  last  load  going 
m  late  December,  bringing  up  his  total  to  more  than 
2,100  m.n.  The  whole  number  thus  shipped  out 
from  Acadia  was  about  6.000.  Their  houses  and 
barns  were  burned,  and  Acaiiia  was  depopulated 

But  now  that  they  were  on  board  the  transport". 
what  was  to  become  of  them,  where  were  they  10 
go?  To  Cape  Breton,  or  to  Canada?  By  no  means 
There  they  w-ould  be  aid,  .  of  the  French  cause. 
To  Maine?  That  would  have  been  reasonable  but 
It  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  Governor  Law- 
rence. No,  they  were  to  be  distributed  along  the 
coast,  from  Massachusetts  to  Georgia— saddle.l  upon 


»l  the  cm 
barlutiori 


iiiic  lixrLi' 


THE   ACAUIANS 


the  ,nl,ab>tants.  Were  t!ie  colonics  forewarned? 
Not  at  all.  With  the  exception  of  Massacluisctts 
none  of  them  knew  of  this  burden  until  the  lx>at' 
actually  anchored  in  the  harlwrs. 

THE    SUFFERING    OF    THE    EXILES 

How  did  these  communities  act?     Very  badly  in- 
deed, yet  quite  naturally.     They  acted  as  all  com- 
munities act  when  helpless  people  ai  bloc  are  thrust 
upon  them.     Every  town  tries  to  shoulder  its  poor 
"pon   Its   neighbor.     Boston    knew   the   .\ca<lians 
were  commg,  an.l  yet  treated  them  very  ungener- 
ously      the  old  Puritan  prejudice  against  Papists 
oix;rated  to  prevent  many  of  the  Bostonians  from 
opening  the.r  homes.     At   Philadelphia  there  was 
great  distress,  grief,  and  sufifering  among  the  Aca- 
dians.     Over  one-third  of  them  died   In^tore  they 
were  distributed  among  the  people.     The  sorrow 
and  misery  the.se  poor  people  endured  when  their 
fannhes    were   separated   on   landing   would    have 

lost  their  lehgion  m  going  among  these  blas- 
phemers, and  all  they  had  left  was  their  families 
Now  these  were  to  be  broken  up.  The  last  tie 
was  gone.  Wo,  utter  wo,  was  their  lot.  The  same 
wretched  condition  prevailed  in  all  nlaces  to  which 
l.ey  were  sent  except  in  Louisiana,  where  they 
«ere  happily  placed    and  grew  into  a  piosperous 

7'°7-  ^  '''\  '""""y  "'•""'«  "«^ir  «-ay  back  to 
J^^adia,  where  they  were  not  disturbs.  Some  who 
had  lx:en  lan<led  m  South  Carolina  made  their  .vay 
back  as  far  as  Boston,  and  then  sent  a  memorial  to 

refused.     Others  escaped  to  Quebec,  aiul  some  o. 


M4»U(tlU 

knew 


Only  in 
Louisiana 
were  ihey 
happy 


Inhuman 
conduct 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

ther.  were  well  treated  and  others  robbed  by  the 
Inteiulant  Bigot  and  his  creatures 

How  any  man  could  have  justified  himself  in 
such  mhuman  conduct  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  see 
Yet  ,t  ,s  more  difficult  to  see  how  any  candid  stu- 
dent who  becomes  possessed  of  all  the  facts  can  for 
a  moment  excuse  Uwrence's  act.  So  far  as  he  is 
concerned,  he  was  not  long  allowed  to  enjoy  his 
power.  •"  ■' 

,  He  died  suddenly  in  1760  after  a  ball  given 
m  honor  of  the  capitulation  of  .Montreal.  At  that 
time  there  was  much  dissatisfaction  with  his  official 
conduct,  and  rumors  of  ugly  charges  against  him 
S  d.^,  f-  J'','^'-  '"  '^'''  ^^P°«  i^^u-^d  after 
Sattn      "^  "^^  ''  ''  '^'''^''  ^""^  ^"  '"^^^- 

The  case  can  be  put  carefully  but  sufficiently  in 
a  few  words.  Forcble  deportation  is  the  last  re 
sort  m  warfare  and  then  only  against  a  fierce  and 
dangerous  people  openly  in  revolt  and  at  a  t'me 
of  great  peril.  There  was  no  such  crisis,  no  suTh 
peril;  and  the  people  were  mild  and  gentle  and 
were  ,.ot  ,n  revolt.     The  crisis,  as  a  matlr  o    fact 

exile  of  he  Acadians  was  not  only  unnecessary  It 
wa3  cruel  and  a  disgr.ce  to  those  responsible 
Ha„..„„„  Judge  Haliburton's  verdict  on  the  expulsion,  pub- 
bshed  in  t8.9,  is  valuable  and  significant,  as  his 
was  the  view  of  an  Enghsh  author  sometimes  quoted 
m  favor  of  the  expulsion.  ^ 

the'';erTnr-^P'"'t'  '''''"'^  °^  '^'"^  transactions  of 
he  period,  ,t  must  be  admitted  that  the  transpor- 
tation  of  the   Acadians   to   distant   colonies,    with 
all  the  marks  of  ignominy  and  giult  peculiar  to 


on  the 
expulsion 


THE   EXILE   OF  THE  ACADIANS 
convicts    was  cruel;  and  although  such  a  conclu- 
sion   couW    not    then    be    drawn,    yet    subsequent 
events  have  d.sclosed  that  their  expulsion  was  un- 
necessary. 

Haliburton   also  points  out  that  there  i.  abso- 

utely   no    record   in   the   archives   at   Halifax   of 

the    deportation,    and    suggests    that    the    account 

was  omitted  or  destroyed  because  of  a  sense  of 

shame.  "     -"-"-" 

It  is  peculiar  that  most  readers  have  received  their 
.mpress.ons  of  that  great  and  sad  event  from  two 
men    one  a  historian,  the  other  a  poet,  living  and  l,„,,.,„„ 
workmg  w.thm  the  same  city.     Neither  of  these -^ 
pictures  can   we  accept  as  true,  but  our  heads  as""""" 
well  as  our  hearts  must  award   the  merit  of  the 
greater  accuracy  not  to  the  r  :at  historian,  but  to 
the  good  poet. 

THE    LESSON    OF    IT    ALL 

There  is  just  one  word  more  to  be  said  on  ther,,. 
whole  matter.     It  is  the  peril  of  the  ignorant      In--»o, 
hese  days  when  we  hear  so  much  nonsense  about  n';'."'"""' 
the  simple  hfe.  ,t  is  well  to  look  at  these  .\cadians 
as  perfect  products  of  that  theory  of  existence     The 
Acad.ans  vyere  simple-certainly  they  were.     Their 
.ves  did  glKle  along  like  streams  that  watered  the 
"oodland,  darkened  by  shadows  of  earth,  but  re- 
flecting  an    image   of   heaven.      But   in  that    sim- 
P'.city   lay   their   danger.      7  hat   simplicity   meant 
Ignorance,  wooly-headed  credulitv,  and  da«d  wr- 
ception.     They  had  no  brains.     They  ^e    ,  ^^ 
V  i;  f',!  .^"  °'  '"^'  °"''''  ^'^get^Wes  you  please. 

is  we  1      P  t  '7"'  P'''''""  '''''  'f  «"  ■-"»"'  one 
's  well.     But  when  peril  threatens,  when  danger 

403 


THR    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
:oi:::V'  "^^'-J  "^en  the  defense  of  this  simplicity  falls 


no  place  for 

simple 

people 


>Jot  Great 
Rritain's 


away  leaving  one  naked  to  one's  e-  nies.  The 
word  of  tnal,  of  strife  and  pain,  is  .  place  for 
simple  people,  and  that  world  is,  after  all,  the 
only  world  that  produces  character  or  any  hin^ 
else  worth  while.  Every  time  such  a  peop^"^  rise! 
m  h,.tory  ,ts  fate  is  t  be  gobbled^uj  by  a 
stronger,  strenuous  power.    It  needs  brains  to  make 

vital  defect  of  the  Acadian  character.  Had  thev 
possessed  brams  they  would  never  have  endured 
buIMoJ  "'f  .'''"•'•'"°"'  °f  'he  French  priests  or  the 
reWH  ?  "'"'""■  '^^'  °"^  they  would  have 
refused  to  countenance  and  the  other  they  would 
have  defied  to  his  face.  To  be  sure,  if  they  had 
had  brams  they  would  have  taken  the  oath  and 
been  free  men. 
iMany    Canadians    and     Englishmen    esneciillv 

from  the  Maritime  Provinces   are  nrnn.'  ,1^^""'"^ 
J,    .  ^  •'-'viiiLC!,,  are  prone  to  assume 

that  any  one  who  denounces  the  expulsion  of  the 
Acad.ans  arrays  hmiself  as  a  critic  of  Great  Brit- 
am.  This  ,s  not  logical  or  in  accord  with  the  facts 
Expulsion  vvas  the  act  of  one  man,  Lawrence,  prob: 
ably  msp.red  by  Shirley,  and  the  British  govemment 

until  rr:  '7r'^'^^  "^'^  >'  --  contemplated 
until  t  was  too  late  to  countermand  it  Disavowal 
was  the  right  action  to  have  taken,  but  Gr  at  S 
am  was  practically  at  war  with  France  and  it  was 

ernment  of  that  age  to  disavow  this  act,  especLly 
since  as  we  shall  see  m  the  coming  chapters  the 
Acadian  campaign  was  the  only  one  of  the  fo  r 
undertaken  that  year  m  Ameri  J  tha^  ^L  t  cct^ 
ful.  It  was  the  year  of  Braddock's  defeat  on  the 
404 


THE   EXILE   OF   THE  ACADIANS 
Monongahela  and  of  British  defeats  in  India  andBHu.. 
elsewhere.     Yet  the  Acadian  campaign  was  reallv"""" 
the  worst  defeat  of  all,  a.id  fair-minded  men  to-day  """"' 
no  matter  where  they  live,  should  agree  in  this 
judgment. 


405 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

THE  PERIL  TO  FRANCE  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

AT  the  opening  of  the  preceding  chapter  I 
^  *■  warned  my  readers  that  I  should  carry  them 
far  m  advance  of  the  times.  That  has  been  done,  yet 
no  violahon  to  the  continuity  of  our  story  has  been 
.nvolved  The  events  of  these  years,  closing  .,  h 
he  expulsion  of  the  Acadians,  bore  the  smallest  re- 
latmn  to  the  other  events  of  the  period  in  America. 
This  was  an  isolated  event,  a  separate  story  from 
all  else.  It  is  not,  therefore,  difficult  to  resume  the 
narration  of  Canadian  events  at  the  period  about 
1750,  where  we  left  it. 

La  Jonquiere,  whom  we  remember  as  leading  the 
foriorn  hope  of  the  attack  upon  Acadia  and  An- 
napolis, was  then  prevented  from  reaching  Canada 
of  wh,ch  he  had  been  appointed  go^•emor-general. 
He  was  placed  in  command  of  a  second  expedi- 
lon  to  retake  Louisbourg  and  Annapoli.s,  and  was 
then  captured  by  the  English  in  a  fight  which  com- 
pletely anndulated  the  French  fleet.  While  he  was 
>n  pnson,  the  Marquis  de  la  Gallisoniere  ruled  in 
his  stead. 

A  new  problem  was  now  before  the  Canadian 

Government,  the  most  senous  of  all  it  had  been 

compelled   to   face  since   the  days  of   Champlain. 

Before  this  time  its  only  fears  had  been  from  In- 

4-^ 


I 


THE  PERIL  TO  FRANXE  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 
dians   and   the   English   to  the  south.     Now  the 
great  West  was  being  invaded,  the  mighty  move- 
ment of  settlement   was  on  foot   which  was  des- 
tined to  end  only  by  making  the  Mississippi  and 
Ohio  Valleys  the  most  powerful  political  and  eco- 
nomic unit  in  North  America.     We  have  seen  how 
truly   provincial   had   been   the    English   colonists. 
ihere  was  almost  no  roving  spirit  among  them, 
i'or  0"er  a  century  they  were  content  to  stay  at 
hon.e  and  till  their  fields  and  let  the  rest  of  the 
world   alone,    while   French   explorers   were   trav-Th. 
ersing  the  mighty  forests  and  rivers  of  that  ijreat  ^"^"'^ 
West,  and  claiming  it  all  for  France  and  the  Church.  TJ::!"" 
But  now,  in  the  middle  of  the  century,  it  became  ""' 
evident  that  a  change  was  coming.     France  had 
failed  to  fill  out  the  vast  spaces  left  in  La  Salle's 
grand  scheme.     Had   France  put   into  that  great 
Mississippi  River  region  not  only  numerous  posts 
well   defended,   but   strong  and   tlourishir-   settle- 
ments of  Frenchmen,  as  La  Salle  demanded    New 
France  might  not  only  have  been  saved,  but  mi"ht 
have  been  a  great  power,  splitting  the  present  United 
States  m  half.    But  such  a  condition  implies  so  many 
others  wholly  impossible  that  it  need  not  be  enter- 
tained.    The  fact  was  that,  aside  from  the  forts  on 
the  Illinois  and  Detroit,  and  a  few  puny  settlements 
here  and  there,  there  were  no  French  forts  guarding 
the  whole  Middle  West,  as  Americans  call  it  to-day 
Hence  there  was  no  barrier  to  oppose  the  new  and 
mighty  expansion  westward  of  the  colonies  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Pennsylvania.    At  the  middle  of  that  cen- 
tury tl,  ■  movement  was  more  a  tendency  than  a 
tact,  but  Its  menace  and  earnest  were  none  the  less 
distinct  and  significant.    These  Virginians  and  Penn- 
W  Canada -s  Vol.  II 


Ccloron 
goes  into 
the  Ohio 
countr)', 
»749 


THE    TERCE.VTENARY    lUSTORY    OF    CANADA 
sylvanians  were  not  only  traders  who  got  the  red- 

menace  was  becomine-  fart  T  =.  r.n-        - 

n,o  ni  ■     ^'  ,,      J,   ^     "^'^  '-^  I'allisoniere  sent  into 

AN    EXPEDITION     TO    ASSERT     FRENCH     POWER 

"uSr"""  '■' ""  J"'^  -^9  when  they  reaS 

-e^S?e.ir^r^-^:S.t^- 
s^on  of  the  country  i„  the  name  of  tlie  kSif  He' 
he,,  descended  the  river.     All  along  the    vfy  th"y 

reached  t/)j     7  '''"''  "'^  Monongahela  was 

the  Oh  ;  Th  r  ',  r''"^""  ""'  ^''  "^y  down 
tne  Uh  o.  They  found  hundreds  of  Indian  villatre, 
along  the  banks  and  many  English  trade        I„  vf , 

-0^.  w  aTT  g^^t  W?t"  '''-'''''■  =•"'•  *°'''  *e." 
?f"/'°'  cotmtrv  ff  H  ,  ,  ""'^  ^^°"'d  =«"d  into  the 
.h.F,.„ch  conn  ry  ,f  they  d,d  not  banish  the  Eno-Iish      ul 

got  httle  satisfaction,     When  he  reached^  fmou" 

ind.ans  of  that  river  was  no  better,  and  when  he 

reached  the  little  French  post  on  the  Maume"  L 

408 


I 


THE  PERIL  TO  FRANCE  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 
was  a  very  much  disgusted  and  disheartened  man 
It  was  November  by  the  time  he  reached  Montreal 
and  his  report  was  most  alarming 

Meanwhile  mo, e  menacing  conditions  were  aris- e„„.. 
Zi  J  ',;  °  Company  was  formed,  composed"""""' 
to    vht'h^H    ?'"""  '"'  '""''  L°""°"  merctan  s  cX„. 

be  settled  there  w.thm  seven  years  and  a  fort  built 
and  mamtamed.     The  next  spring  after  Bienvi  e's 

sent  out  to  explore  the  land.  His  reception  was 
just  the  opposite  to  Bienvi"«'s.  Nearly  all  the  tribes 
we^re  g lad  to  see  him.  O,  he  DelaLres  remt^ 
bere  I  the  Irorjuois,  and  were  kept  dour  toward  the 

IT^  v''"''  '^'  '°^'^'yPennsylvanians  told  them 
that  the  Virginians  meant  to  steal  their  land. 

Ditfrp'^/T''  ^''P^^''''°"  ^-^^  that  of  the  Sul- 
P  tian  Father  Piriuet,  who  had  a  mission  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  at  Ogdensburg,  which  he  called  La 
Presentation  He  made  the  enti.e  circuit  of  Lake 
Ontario  and  all  that  he  saw  confirmed  the  faith- 
fulness of  the  Indians  of  that  region.  Only  Niagara 
must  be  kept  m  French  hands  to  hold  back  the  En- 
glish horde  from  the  south. 

It  was  now  1751,  and  La  Jonquiere.  having  got  r» 
out  of  prison,  had  become  governor  at  Quebec     So '""'""*-■» 
La  Galhsoniere  returned  to  France,  and  a  few  years "'""""' 
later  took  part  in  one  of  the  memorable  sea  fights 
trll    Tu^'-   ^'fi"°^^«-^ii^"iorable  not  so  nnich 
for  the  fight  Itself  as  for  the  outcome,  which  was 
tlie  courtmartiahng  and  execution  of  Admiral  Byne 
whom  La  Gallisoniere  defeated.    Poor  La  Jonquiere 
did  not  last  long  as  governor.    It  was  hardly  worth 


build     forts  I 
ia  1753 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
his  long  wait.     He  was  not  siii)i)orted  well  by  the 
French   ministry,   and   was   often   chided    for   his 
inability   to   work   miracles.      His   own   onicrs   to 
his  inferiors  were  not  obeyed,  and  fret  and  worry 
marked  all  his  days.     Only  about  a  year  after  his 
arrival  in  New  France  he  went  to  bed  and  died 
from  nervous  prostration  in  1752. 
Th.Fr«ch      The  Marciuis  Duqucsne  succeeded  a  few  months 
later.      He  seemed    from   the  first  to   hold  things 
with  1  whip-hand,  and  at  once  began  to  counteract 
the  raids  of  the  English  traders.     His  plan  was  to 
budd  forts  on  the  Ohio,  with  strong  garrisons,  and 
thus  absolutely  keep  out  the  English  traders.     It 
was  a  bold  scheine,  and  history  shows     jw  well  it 
was  carried  out.     Paris  was  pessimistic  about  the 
scheme,  but  finally  a  beginning  was  made.     An  ex- 
pedition set  out  in  the  spring  of  1753,  consisting 
of  about  1,000  men  under  l\farin,  whom  we  remem- 
ber in  Acadia.  The  first  place  where  a  fort  was  built 
was  at  Presqu'Isle,  the  present  Erie,  Pa.     Where 
French  Creek  was  reached  he  built  Fort  le  Boeuf    The 
i.di,„,      ^"^'"estlike  ways  of  the  French  and  the  great  num- 
profoundi,  0^''^  >"  the  expedition  profoundly  affected  the  In- 
>«««d      dians— affected  them  as  only  a  show  of  force  could 
—and  they  began  to  get  into  the  French  bandwagon. 
Almost  every  *ribe  in  that  neighborhood  came  into 
camp  to  treat  with  Marin,  and  even  to  offer  assist- 
ance in  the  work  of  fort-building.     The  usual  ex- 
periences and  diseases  of  troops  in  a  new  country 
so  reduced  their  strength,  however,  that  nearly  all 
were  compelled  to  return  to  Montreal  for  the  win- 
ter, garrisons  being  left  at  Presqu'Isle  and  Le  Boeuf 
About  this  time  Marin  broke  down,  and  Saint-Pierre 
arrived  to  take  command. 
410 


I 
I 


i 


TflE   PERIL  TO  FRANCE  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

The  outlook  for  the  winter  was  lonely  enough,  and  a  ,i.itor 
.Saint-Pierre  began  to  airse  roundly  his  luck  when  '^°°' 
on  December  1 1   a  stranger,  evidently  an  English-    """" 
man,  with  a  small  retinue,  arrived  at  Le  Bceuf  and 
asked  to  see  the  commandant.     He  came  from  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie  of  Virginia,  being  adjutant-gen- 
eral of  the  militia  of  that  province,  and  he  gave 
his  nan;e  as  George  Washington. 

Saint-Pierre,  when  he  learned  who  sent  the  young 
officer,  did  not  need  to  ask  his  errand.     But  VVash- 
mgton  delivered  his  message  with  his  proverbial 
courtesy:  it  was  a  polite  "Get  out!"     The  journey 
of   Washington  is   well   known   to  all   readers  of 
American  history,  and  need  not  be  told  here.    The 
governor  had  ordered  him  to  ask  Duquesne  by  what 
autliority  he  dared  encroach  upon  British  soil  and 
there  erect  fortifications.    Of  course  the  pretenses  of  Bou„d.,> 
the  English  and  the  French  were  all  equally  blus- '""'">'''°' 
ter.    There  was  nothing  approaching  an  agreement 
on  boundaries.  A  feeble  attempt  had  been  made  at  the 
Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  to  settle  these  disputes 
by  referring  the  subject  to  a  boundary  commission, 
but  after  several  months'  session  the  commission 
adjourned  sine  die,  unable  to  agree.    France  wanted 
all  North  America  and  so  did  Great  Britain.     As 
a  matter  of  fact  force  was  the  only  argument  con- 
sidered of  any  value  regarding  even  the  regions 
already  settled,  while  the  hinterland  or  frontier  was 
open  to  the  power  which  got  first  on  the  ground  and 
defended  that  ground. 

The  only  reply  Saint-Pierre  could   make  after 

three    days'   cogitation   was   that  he   would   refer 

Dinwiddle's  letter  to  Duquesne.     The  return  trip 

of  Washington,  how  an  Indian  shot  at  him  and 

411 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
^v,^,n,.    missed    how  he  ahiiost  lost  h,s  Hfe  while  trying  to 
v„„ur„„.   cross  the  Allegheny  on  a  raft,  and  how  at  last  in 
—        January  he  reached  Williamsburg  to  report  to  the 
governor-all  these  are  familiar  and  traditional  epi- 
sodes  ,n  the  life  of  the  first  of  all  Americans.     Din- 
widdle knew  now  just  what  to  do,  hut  alas'  he  was 
no  autocrat  in  Virginia.     The  House  of  liurgesses 
was  jealous  of  his  encroachment  on   its  preroga- 
tives, and  there- was  a  lively  contest  for  .nJnths  be- 
tween executive  and  legislature  on  the  terms  of  the 
act  to  ra.se  money  to  drive  out  the  French      He 
prorogued    it    at    length,    but    later   called    It    to- 
ge  her  ngau,,  and  after  considerable  wire-pulling 
got  what  he  sought,  an  appropriation  of  fund.s  to 

2n  in  H,    '''"'''  "i  ""  "P<^dition,  which  was  to 
start  m  the  spnng  of  1754. 

washixgton's  campaign 
This  expedition  was  first  of  all  to  build  a  fort  at 
the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Monongahela   a 
the  very  place  which  Marin  had  designed  to  p\ce 
.    for  the  French,  and  thus  to  notify  France  that 
she  could  proceed  no  farther  along  the  Ohfo     Bu 

T>,„.„,  '"''?  "'^^  ^'"'"«f  '^'^^i'  ^v^  already  Febru- 

l^llT'^'y-l'"^  «o  Dinwiddie  sent  Captain  Trent  with  a 

build  any  sort  of  a  fort,  and  hold  it  until  the  larger 
force  could  arrive.  Meantime  Dinwiddie  was  sum- 
moning assistance  from  the  other  colonies.  He  et.t 
cold  comfort  from  most  of  them.  North  Carolina  ac- 
tually .sent  only  three  hundred  men.  Pennsylvania's 
governor,  Hamilton,  could  not  g^t  the  Quakers  and 
the  Dutch  in  his  Assembly  to  doanything.  Th»re  were 
two  regiments  of  regulars  in  New  York,  and  they 

4H 


I 


I 


THE  PKKII.  TM   IKANCi:   I.v   'nn:  OHIO  COl-N-luv 


MAP    OK    THE    KKENCII     ANn    INDIAN    V.Ar. 

413 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
Oa.,r.ii„,  were  ordered  to  the  front,  and  jjot  there  tcx>  laic  to 
■"■  '""""  do  any  fro.xl.  The  North  CaroHna  troops  ,,uarrelc<l 
and  niutMiuvI  and  finally  disbanded.  So  all  the  force 
that  actnally  ^ot  to  the  scene  of  contlict— for,  as  the 
rea<ler  mnst  anticipate,  there  was  a  conflict  pretty 
soon— was  the  little  force  of  Virginia  militia  and 
volunteers  niiniherinf;  three  hundred  men.  Joshna 
Fry  was  appointed  the  colonel,  with  Washinj^ton 
lieutenant-colonel. 

\V'ashinfi:ton  started  out  in  April  with  half  the 
ragped  regiment,  and  had  reached  Wills  Creek 
when  poor  Trent  and  his  comrades  appeared  on 
the  .scene  to  inform  him  that  on  .April  17  a  huge 
force  of  French  came  down  the  Ohio  -vi"  -annon 
and  ordered  the  fort  to  surrender,  which  was  done. 
This  force  was  really  five  hundred  men,  and  com- 
manded by  Contrecceur,  Saint-Pierre's  successor 
I^Mron"  J.^^y  ''"'"  =>  "^w  f°"'  and  named  it  Fort  Duquesne. 
Duqucine  v\'ashmgton  duly  reported  by  messenger  to  Din- 
widdie,  who  was  beside  himself  with  rage,  both  at 
the  French  for  their  daring  encroachment,  am'  at 
his  legislators  for  the  delay  in  furnishing  him  funds. 
But  he  urged  Washington  to  go  ahead.  The  tall 
Virginia  colonel  needed  no  urging,  but  went  at  the 
task  in  the  sturdy  way  that  characterized  him. 

Just  why  he  and  Dinwiddle  ever  contemplated 
such  an  absurd  scheme  as  sending  his  small  detach- 
ment through  a  wilderness  to  attack  a  fort  garri- 
soned by  five  hundred  French  regulars  and  Cana- 
dians provided  with  field  guns,  is  difficult  to  guess 
at  this  distance.  Undoubtedly  they  expected  the 
regulars  from  New  York,  and  the  North  Carolinians 
to  come  in  time.  But  it  was  a  rash  expedition,  and 
met  the  fate  it  deserved.  A  few  years  later  Wash- 
414 


A  rash 
eip«ditlon 


I 


THE   PERIL  TO  FRAN'CF.  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 
ington  would  have  done  better.    As  it  was  he  started 
for  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  trees,  brush 
inountams,  and  rivers  that  intervened  between  Wills 
Creek  and  Fort  Duquesne.     He  was  to  halt  at  Mid- 
way, a  storehouse  station  of  the  Ohio  Company 
and   wait   for  reenforcements.     But  fate  willc.l  it 
otherwise.    WashinKton  crossed  the  mountains,  and 
at  Great  Meadows  he  heard  of  a  party  of  French 
from  Fort  Duquesne,  sent  out  to  spy  upon  his  move- 
ments,     "."hey   had    Iwen    terrorizing   the    Fnglish 
inhabitants  of  that  region,  and  evidently  meant  mis- 
chief.    Washington  tried  to  find  them,  but  at  first  w.^m.. 
without  success.     Finallv  an  Indian  friend  of  his'"" 
came  with  infonnation  of  the  partv's  whereabouts,  :r;irc„ 
and  WashniRton,  lakuifi;  foity  nun,  strrx'-  m.  une 
nif^ht  for  the  enemy's  hiding-place.     At  daybreak, 
after  a  night  of  wandering,  they  came  upon  the 
camp.    The  French  seized  their  muskets.    Washing- 
ton ordered   "Fire"   and   the   French  commander, 
Co'ilon  de  Junionville,  and  nine  others  were  killed; 
twenty-two  were  captured.    Out  of  this  petty  afTray 
came  a  dreadful  amount  of  noise  and  clamor  from 
the  French  to  the  effect  that  Washington  ha<l  stealth- Ab,„.d 
ily  crept  upon  a  party  of  French  sent  to  bring  him""""' 
a  message  and  killed  them  in  cold  blood.     Laying  S" 
aside  the  evident  inconsistency  of  any  pot  which '"""'" 
sent  out  parties  to  slaughter  sleeping  New  England 
villages  calling  any  possible  kettle  black,  the  allega- 
tion in  this  instance  was  absurd.    If  the  French  had 
really  wanted  to  deliver  a  message  to  Washington, 
why  had  they  not  done  so?     The  fact  is.  it  was  a 
spying  party,  and  by  its  depredations  earned  the 
right  to  be  regarded  as  an  enemy  to  the  English. 
Falling  upon  a  hostile  camp  by  night  may  shock 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

bi'L^h'd    Q"^''^"  °"''   ^^^  esthetic,   but   it  is  no  departure 

in  a  great    ^^m  'he  customs  of  war.     However,   it  was  an 

earlier  Lexington,  for  there  was  the  first  blood  shed 

in  the  great  war  which  was  to  revise  radically  the 

map  of  North  America. 

THK     SURRENDER     OK     FORT     NECESSITY 

Washington's  position  was  now  perilous  in  the 
extreme.     Coulon  de  \'illiers,  a  brother  of  tlie  dead 
leader,   set  out   on   an  avenging  tour   from   Fort 
Duquesne,  with  a  force  at  least  double  Washing- 
ton's, even  after  that  had  been  augmented  by  the  re- 
mainder of  In's  Virginia  volunteers  and  a  company 
of  regidars  from  South  Carolina.   There  was  noth- 
ing to  do  but  prep;: re  to  meet  them,  and  Washington 
built  a  fort  on  the  piain  in  what  seems  to  have  been 
an  unfavorable  and  badly  chosen  position.  He  called 
it  Fort  Necessity,  and  on  July  3  it  was  attacked 
by  the  overwhelming  force  of  French  and  Indians. 
There  could  be  but  one  end  to  such  a  combat,  and 
sort  of        '!^^*  "'&''"  Washington  surrendered.    The  proposi- 
Mgotution  tion,  however,  came  first  from  the  French,  and  it 
was  really  due  to  their  extremities  that  they  asked 
for  a  parley.    Their  ammunition  wns  running  low, 
they  were  all  wet  and  hungry,  and  the  Indians  were 
threatening  to  desert  the  next  morning.    Of  course 
Coulon  did  not  reveal  his  condition  to  Washington, 
who  at  first  refused  to  treat  for  terms,  but  at  length 
yielded.     The  terms  were  very  quickl  -  .^reed  to, 
and   were  very  favorable   to  the   Eng  ish.      They 
were  allowed  to  return  to  Virginia  with  thei    ..rms, 
although  the  numbers  of  the  French  were  sufficient 
to  take  all  the  English  prisoners  to  Fort  Duquesne. 
One  paragraph  of  the  terms  referred  to  "t'assassi- 
416 


A  queer 
sort  of 


THE  PERIL  TO  FRANC!".  !X  THE    JHIO  COUNTRY 

nation  dii  Siciir  de  Jitmonvillc."   Only  one  of  Wasli- 
ington's  force  knew  French,  and  he  was  the  Dutch- 
man, Captain  Van  Braam,  who  conducted  the  peace 
negotiations.     He  translated  tliat  phrase  "the  death  washing, 
of  Sieur  de  Jumonville,"  and  Washington  did  not '"" '™'"''' 
know  how  he  had  been  deceived  until  weeks  later*"""'"" 
the  French  were  publishing  that  peace  agreement 
as  proof  that  Jumonville  was  assassinated  by  Wash- 
ington.   Van  Braam's  translation  of  French  was  as 
free  as  many  a  collecje  freshman's. 

The  ne.xt  day  the  mournful  march  back  to  Wills 
Creek  began.  Washington  had  lost  twelve  men 
killed  and  forty-three  wounded.  It  was  the  Fourth 
of  July,  and  probably  no  amount  of  jubilation  over  a  mc-™t„i 
the  event  of  twenty-two  years  later  ever  obliterated '""  *"' 
from  Washington's  mind  the  sad  sensations  of  that 
July  4th  in  the  woods  and  plains  of  the  western 
Virginia  mountains.  There  was  no  doubt  which 
was  the  victorious  party,  for  the  French  returned  to 
Fort  Duquesne  jubilant,  although  a  rigid  commander 
might  ha\e.  and  should  have,  asked  them:  "Where 
are  your  prisoners?" 


417 


CHAPTER    XXV 

GENERAL   BRADDOCK's   DEFEAT 

l^:l    T';;f„:;f  !l°|   ^^-'""^on    was   in   its   im- 

J      ^^11  ine  i,ngjish  traders  at  once  witli 
c  rew  from  the  Ol.i.   and  there  was  none  to  di  pute' 
the  sway  of  the  Fr.ach.    But  it  stirred  np  the  cot 
mes  to  great  mdignat.on,  and  assured  thenVof  a  J 
^nd  s  cooperation  m  the  task  of  driving  out  the 

.vTotd^r:    ''"h     '''"'''''''  ^°'  'he  atth     it 
Novemh      .'',''•  '"''  '^'y  ^'^^"d  the  following 
Xovember  to  send  over  two  Irish  regiments,  undef 

Jam,ar;!:TAl      '"'''  ''''"'''°'''-    ^hese  sailed  in 

.t"pos.Me  ,  ^'""^r''"''  "'°'''"^  P-'^'ty  rapidly  to  a  crisis 
position  between  France  and  England,  when  in  time  of  nro 
fessed  peace  a  fight  between  the  two  flagT  occurred 
on  the  rontier  in  which  a  score  of  livef were  lost 
followed  a  few  months  later  by  the  desMtch  nf  1' 
thousand  men  fron.  Engiand,  led  by  a  ra£-g  „ 

Lnghsh  posts  and  possessions  in  disputed  territorv 
England  was  m  no  condition  for  war,  andje  s^e 
■as  dehberately  flirting  w.th  war,  ank  doing  it  at 
last  m  behalf  of  her  colonies,  who  had  askfd  for 
hep  and  been  falsely  promised  it  so  Iny",, t 
before.  France  did  not  wait  untd  her  diplomat" 
418 


I 

I 


\ 


GENERAL  BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT 

answered  L%*'  T"'"^  °'  ^'^  ^P^li'io"  was  a..., 
answered  before  slie  put  her  own   i,pon   the  sea  -*'--'' 

ordered  toT"'"™  ""'^''  ^^'"°"  ^■«^--'"   were-r™"" 
ot  war      The  inqmry  re-arding  Braddock's  exce 
d.t.on  brought  forth  the  answer  tl,at  its  design  was 
wholy  pacfic;  and  when  the  c,uest,on  w  s'^^umed 
about  and  apphcd  to  the  French  Heet  and  troopsT 

^S^^S^^^tS-lSe^'^i 
game    tl,e    British    government    ordered    Admi  a 

fhr~hrr  T'r '°  '-'•^••"''^  ->''-- 

I        ,,  ,  "'^  ''^'P^  '"^'^  stationed  off  New 

foundland,  hut  most  of  the  French  vessels  eud^d 
h,m  a,Kl   reached  Quebec  or  Louisbourg      Thr« 

tne  others  in  the  lOg  and  storm,  and  two  of  these 
were  pounced  upon  by  Boscawen's  Jt  w 
captured  The  other  escaped.  War  ough'o  have 
followed  immediately,  but  it  did  not.    FrLce  sought 

ziii  %':\  ih''  ^"^'  ^"^'-''^  was  n^t  pr:s 

inus:  come  """'*^''  ^'"^°"^''  ^°'"  knew  it 

arrt"d  in  Scfalf  '^^°"""^  '''  meantime.^™. 

nveci  in  America,  and  was  liastening  preparations  ""•'  ■" 
with  ail  possible  speed.    He  met  at  AlfxandrrVa    """°" 
m  the  Carlisle  House  (which  ,s  still  s.anS)  the 
governors  of  Virginia,  Massachusetts,  Ne^v  Yo  k 

campaign.     It  was  to  be  in  four  parts      Bridd,H-k 

was  to  take  Fort  Duquesne;  William  Johnson!ag^t 

419 


Bdddock 
himself 


The 

expediLion 
sets  out 


THE    TKRCENTEXARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
of  Aflmirnl  \\'arren  in  America,  who,  we  have  seen 
was  greatly  admired  by  the  Mohawk-s,  was  to  take 
Crown  Pomt;  Shirley  and  Pepperell  were  to  take 

Beause>,f ''•  '"''  ''°"''*°"  ^"''^  '°  ''^^  ^°^^ 
sJ^Z^'"^'^'  °^  ^''=",'d°^^-'^  expedition  and  defeat  is 

tes,  I  ,,t?T'';'  M™' "'  ^'''' '"  ^^"^'•''"■y  ""~"- 

t  here  Everybody  knows  that  Braddock  was  de- 
feated because  he  tried  to  Hght  in  the  woods  by  tl'e 
niles  and  al„,ements  provided  for  the  plains  and  with 

.vjhzed  opponents     The  man  hin.elf  was  not  ha 
bad      He  had  nearly  all  the  faults  of  the  proverbial 
Enghsh  officer,  and  most  of  his  virtues.     He  was 

rur?H  h"\  ■°'-'"^"'"''  ^"^■^'  '-■"^'  '"ethodical  He 
c.  rsed  the  V.rgnuans  roundly  for  .lelaying  theexpe- 
d.t.on  by  not  furnishing  wagons  and  othfr  sttppTs 

sp^rir  rw^af^triri^k 

reached  VVills  Creek,  or  Fort  Cun^berland.  S  hat 
tm^e  the  force  was  pretty  well  worn  with  mak- 
ing its  vvay  slowly  through  the  mountains,  but 
n  genenal  the  „,orale  of  the  command  was  Excel- 
lent. The  two  regmients  of  regulars  had  been 
increased  to  .,500  men.  and  there  ^^^^e  450  V.rg^a 
volunteers  under  the  immediate  command  of  VV^^  ' 
mgton,  who  was  on  Braddock's  staff  with  the  rank 
of  major.     In  sp.te  of  the  delays  and  the  errors  of 

IniT"'-''  T  "°'  ""'  ''"'  *"=''  "-  column  la 
m  otherwise  than  good  condition,  or  that  the  pros 

excellent.  In  the  mean  tmte.  however,  Fort  Duquesne 

420 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORy    OF    CANADA 
TH.P.„c.had  been  strengthened  and  reenfor.ed,  and  would 
an.icip.,.    have  been  almost  certainly  a  most  diffi.^u        •.• 
B--.    to  capture  by  Braddock/fo'r^'Ht^^^Tt'rse 
reenforcements,  and  that  a  force  was  to  i     e" 
o  intercept  the  English,  Braddock,   by  Wa^h  n^ 
"n  a^tl'"  TreV''°"  """  ^"h  cannon'and  pthfd 
/     'cguidrs,  150  Canadians,  and  6i;o  In- 

tZnT"'"  ^'P'""  ''^^'"J^"-  B'-add«:k  had  a  few 
Ind.ans  as  scouts  and  fighters  when  he  started  bu^ 
he  offended  them,  and  when  the  fighting  came 'thev 
were  not  at  hand.  *"  ^ 

THE    B.^TLE    NOT   AN    AMBUSH 

The  contest  occurred  or.ly  a  few  miles  from  the 
fort,  and  just  after  the  English  had  crossed  he 
Monongahela.  They  were  parsing  through  a  rav  ne 
when  the  scouts  came  rushing  back,  crying  hat  he 
enemy  was  just  ahead  in  great  nunAers  Now  such 
a  contmgency-an  attack  in  the  woods-ought  o 
have  been  provided  for.  but  it  was  not.  Sofn  tl  e 
enemy  came  in  sight  and  the  attack  began  Te 
Indians  at  once  scampered  for  the  trees  and  logs 
especially  those  at  the  right  of  the  English  taking 
positions  on  a  hill  above  the  latter,^  who  were 
grouped  in  the  cleared  place  in  the  middle  Th  s 
device  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  gave  to  the  affa  r 

o'r  Z7r'  :'  '"  ""''"^'^'  -'^  ''  was  so  Called 
for  about  a  century  or  more.     But  it  was  really  no 

From  the  beginning  it  was  a  peculiar  contest 
Rare  is  it  indeed  that  the  fall  of  a  leader  does  not 

422 


Indians 
'ighting 
behind 
trees 


i 


GENERAL  BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT 

demoralize  and  destroy  the  effectiveness  of  a  com-  seauj.u 
matid.  In  the  first  few  minutes  of  this  battle  in"""" 
the  woods  Beaujeu  fell  deail.  Immediately  the 
Canadians  broke  and  ran  away,  an  unexpected  and 
exceptional  act  of  cowardice  on  the  part  of  Cana- 
dians of  that  day.  The  French  regiilars,  however, 
remained  and  kept  up  the  fight.  More  important 
.still,  the  Indians,  either  because  they  in  the  din  and 
uproar  of  the  fight  did  not  know  Beaujeu  was  dead, 
or  were  too  excited  and  enjoying  themselves  too 
much  to  care,  kept  on  fighting,  and  they  won  the 
battle. 

The  English  were  utterly  demoralized  by  this ''''"''-"e'isii 
steady  rain  of  bullets  from  a  foe  they  could  not  see.  tZ°'^'' 
They  tried  at  first  to  get  their  cannon  into  action, 
but  never  succeeded  fully.  They  shot  at  the  direc- 
tion from  which  they  saw  the  powder  discharged, 
and  from  which  the  awful  yells  and  shrieks  were 
coming,  but  their  bullets  merely  struck  the  trees,  or 
whistled  over  the  heads  of  the  Indians.  Meanwhile 
Braddock  had  come  up  and  was  trying  to  form  his 
men  into  .sonje  sort  of  military  figure,  but  without 
success. 

The  Virginians  at  once  sprang  to  the  trees  and  Panic  »iki 
got  behind  logs,  and  began  to  fight  the  devil  with"'"^"" 
fire.  Some  of  the  redcoats  tried  the  same  tactics, 
but  were  driven  out  into  the  open  by  Braddock  with 
the  fiat  of  his  sword.  Washington  was  every- 
where directing  the  fight  and  trying  to  rally  the 
men.  Finally  the  demoralization  became  so  great 
that  the  British  simply  crowded  together  in  the 
open,  shouting  and  shooting  wildly,  and  offering 
the  best  possible  mark  with  the  largest  mortal  re- 
sults for  the  fire  of  the  Indians.    What  most  tended 


Ti.E    TERCENTEXARV    HISTORV    OP    CAN-An. 

causing  such  t^r  and  d  Z  To' 7  °'  '"^^  "'' 
only  be  caused  bv  such  an  act  thl  fi  "  '™/  ="  "" 
upon  their  own"  comrades  Vi=  l'^  °'''''" 
this  battle  story  further  Th.  "'''''  '°  '^"'''^ 
treat  and  the  retreat  .r     ^      '^''""  ^"'"'  '  ^^- 

.-•o-r-'e^  -  cover  thr;erat:n     w^r^  .I^JT  ^'^ 
Boo„        Gage  and  Gates    destinpHfU    [    "°""f'cd,  were 

ing  sides  in  the  ketoSon     .S    ""'  °"  "P^^^" 
woodsmen  who  fled  in  /h!  ^""""S  the  back- 

treat   Rrn.M     i      •  '  "'^  beginning  of  the  re- 

B-...    w      sS'£a'bX"""'^'"'  ^'"   '^■■^  fifth  hor, 
'"  ground.     H  Vas  t  len'tofh   '""'^'  '^""  f^"  '°  "- 

as  carefully  as^s  Se  Th  V'"  f "''  ''°™^  ^'°"^ 
t>P  the  vic^ory.'^The^e  werf f'rJ/'J ""' .^°"°- 
contest,    and    after    tlie    retrCt     I,  '"  "''' 

the    fort     The    Ua  ''^^    ''cturned    to 

fleeing    ohml,    J"?    "nl   °°'   f ''  "°'  P"-"<=   "- 

the  bodies  o";,^,e,d  ,,::;'',''■"'"  ^^''r^"^*'""  - 

^^-:nr;°''--SenlKh^;--E 

coS:ns?^:::^--^-^-.i...under 

of  supples  a2  2.1, tTnd^reratrr'''^' 
dock  steadily  gre"v  ^orsj  an'f  "'Tr'-     ^-'^- 

-hed'thet^ra:^.^— S-^- 

424  ' 


GENERAL   BRADDOCK'S   DEFEAT 

order  to  hide  the  burial-pUc  from  the  Indians.  n,.ddock'. 
So  well  was  it  hidden  tii-'t  no  one  has  ever  since ''"''•' p'"" 
been  able  to  point  out  the  exact  spot  of  his  sepul- 
ture. During  his  last  hours  he  is  said  to  have  ex- 
pressed his  admiration  for  the  Virginians  and  his 
contempt  for  his  own  men,  and  to  have  whispered, 
"Another  time  we  shall  know  better  how  to  deal 
with  them." 

The  loss  of  the  English  force  in  this  battle  was 
terrific,  63  of  the  86  officers  were  killed  or  dis- 
abled, among  the  former  Governor  Shirley's  son, 
and  only  451  of  the  1,373  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates  escaped  injury.  The  French  loss,  while 
not  fully  reported,  was  insignificant,  and  the  Indians 
lost  less  than  20  bra\es. 

The  nfter-results  of  the  defeat  were  as  crushing  as  th. 
the  battle  itself.     Every  English  trader  west  of  the""'""'""' 
Alleghanies  left  his  home       '  haunts  in  terror,  and  'hrKoiLh 
the  French  Indians  even  leaped  across  those  moun- 
tains and  carried  the  torch  and  the  knife  into  the 
homes   of  western   Virginia   and   Maryland.    Din- 
widdle  was   beside  himself  with   rage  and  disap- 
pointment.    He  even  quarreled  with  Washington 
for  a  time.     Colonel  Dimbar  witli  the  remnant  of 
Braddock's  army  did  not  return  to  Virginia,  but 
marched  or  ran  to  Philadelphia.     Nowadays  a  com- 
mander who   acted  so  wantonly  would  \k  court- 
martialed. 

Thus  the  whole  West  was  in  French  hands,  and, 
where  a  few  years  before  French  prestige  was  gone 
and  the  whole  region  honeycombed  with  Anglo- 
mania, now  largely  because  of  French  aggression 
and  British  blundering  the  English  were  driven  out 
and  all  the  tribes  that  were  becoming  so  friendly 
425 


T>U.:    THRCt  .TE.VARV    HISTORY 
lo  the  Knglish  wc 
Freiicli. 


OF    CAXADA 
«  .Irawn  back  .•■sain  lovvnrd  the 


Hietkiu  in 
commaod 


A  hot 
liirht  In 
the  woods 


secret  papers,  cuthiiin..  fi„.  f         '"  "  •""""<-'  i"  "is 
year,  was  th  own  uL      /        "r*''''^"'' "^  '''-' 

"Ipe  of  the  three  other.r  "*  *^''""  '"'  "^'"""l- 

That  against  Fort  t  .S^"  """  ■'"  P™^--- 

have   seen.     The  attemnf  ,,  ,  ^'^'''^"S-   ns   we 

take   Crown    P  •.!     "f  ''^   ^^ '"'''""  -'"''"^O"   to 
so  almost   who'   '   bv  L"    ''■'',"'•'!'    ^^'^"'^'    -"a.le 
forewarne,!  conditio^   ^'ZTv    '",''"""   "^"   '^e 
flock's  papers  were  fot,  u      l  f        I  '^'''  "'^^■ 
July  before  tlie  camn  wl     /        '  '''^•"  "'<^  '^t  "f 
if  "■<••=  the  ,n  do  e    ,f    l''    TT".'  '^  ^^"''''"y'  -"'' 
the  Hudson  wa   made     a"?'  .  '"^  °'''  ^'^-^  ^'^^  „p 
was  built  at  rte  carr;in^    T'  f '^  ^°''  ^y.nan 
and   Lake   Georle     -raf'"  ^'""^"  "^'-  "^•- 
sistinff  mainly  of  New  EnJ°"?   "^'  """"P^'   ^°"- 
toward  the  lake     When  thf""''  T'"''  P'-'^«<^«' 
a  surprise  awaiting  them     b',,^;  ,'  ""  '"^^  ^O"-' 
commander-in-chief  of  Th„  7  '^'''^"-  "'^  "^w 

was  there  with,  00  men  Tf!'  °^  ^^"^^  ^™"«, 
son  had  abot^;^esr„"''"f"^ '"'''■'•'"'■  J"''"- 
fewer  Indians  '  ""'"'^''  "^  ^"'''iers,  but 

van?e^onhe  Bn'ti'it  ^^-^^  7'"''^^'^  ^-  "-  ad- 
them.  Amon?  Ee^n^'  and  completely  surprised 
f'-om  the  hushes  was  S^/f-'^-^fi^'fi^that'came 
hawks.     For  a   few  '  '   "^'-  "^'"^  °^  "'e  Mo- 

^roquois  Indians  with   the  English 


GENERAL  BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT 
were  running  away  like  a  pack  of  wl.ipiKJci  hounds 
But  soon  the  panic  involved  the  I'Vench  Indians  also 
and  httle  effective  shifting  was  done.  Part  of  the 
Knghsh  colonial  forces  rallied  and  covered  with 
great  credit,  the  retreat  back  to  the  camp  wliere 
Johnson  was  stationed.  The  I'rcnch  <Iid  not  per- 
haps could  not,  follow  up  their  advantage.  The 
Indians  were  dispirited  by  their  own  foolishness  and 
meffie.cncy;  and  the  Canadians  were  depresse<l  be- 
cause they  had  lost  their  gallant  leader.  Lcgardeur 
dc  Sauit  Pierre,  a  veteran  of  the  wars  in  .America 
whom  we  saw  last  in  the  Monongahcla  country. 

Meantime,  Johnson,  \>e\ng  aroused  and  told  of  the  j>,h»ao„'. 
rout  by  the  advance  guard  of  the  vanquished  that  "''""■ 
poured  panting  for  brepth  into  his  camp,  begtm  to 
make  preparations  for  defense.     A  ha.ny  rude  bar- 
ricade, formed  of  wagons  and  trees,  was  thrown  up 
and  behind  it  were  placed  three  cannon,  and  on  a 
hill  another,  where  they  could  command  the  path  by 
which  the  French  approaclied.    It  was  hours  later  be- 
before  they  came,  and  this  interval  gave  courage  to  the 
English  troops  and  their  red  allies.     The  forces  un- 
der Dieskau  came  on  with  enough  courage  and  en- 
thusiasm to  win  any  battle,  but  they  were  largely  a 
wild,  undisciplined  band,  and  at  the  first  of  the 
British  fire  from  cannon  and  muskets  they  halted 
and  then  many  fled.    Desperate  hand-to-hand  fight- 
ing took  place,  and  Dieskau  himself  was  struck  down 
and  captured.     The  Mohawks  wished  to  eat  him 
but  Johnson  protected  him  and  cared  for  his  wounds!  Di„i.au 
which  were  very  serious.     He  was  sent  to  Albany  ""■>"«''=<' 
and  later  to  England,  and  died  a  few  years  after.  "p'„,«i 
His  experience  in  the  New  World  was  almost  as 
unfortunate  as  Braddock's. 
427 


Oddly  enough,  it  was 


T'lR    TKRCP.XT 


Bra<!(lock's  (!cfc 


K.VAKY    IIISIOKY 


Of-- 


lAXAHA 


II    tiiut 


johniOD'i 


Shirley's 


victory.  '"•"'''   ^'"^'^''"   ">  ^"ri-  „f 

N-vcmbcr  soon  c  „t  , i        f  ''       '-'"""'>^'''  "'""^■• 
not  even  apprSd  l^r  rir         "  r'"  ""'  '■•''^^■'■' 

-n-ainp^^o^t^ -,^^^2;;f^"■■ 
Jolinson  w.-is  iMuioubtcdIv  a  man  of  «im.    i  ■,• 

tempts  a?  :  ilcp  ,  "   S™;!'  "" "  ""'  '"'"''  '"  ^'- 
conm.an.l  woi.li     ai..  ,?  ?""*^""^  ^°Wier  in 

on    Crown    Po    t       I  "^     "'  '"'  ""^"  '°  """^h 

work- undone  -^°'""""   undoubtedly   left   hi. 


pi"touke„,    .      '.   ^        '^■"nipaipn  was  to  condii.lp  n,„ 
M.g.„    'niers  victorious  march      Of  ,,°. ''''""''"' ^'he  sum- 

enior  Shirlev  of   Ar,        ,  expedition  Gov- 

rq.percl     secmKl    :i^'''='^'"'^«'^  ^'^  'eader.   with 

.ef  men™"  ,"  h  :;?!  „  ^l^^  ^^  '- 

near  Lake  George.  ""  ^'  ""<=  ''""'^  »'  "'=  contest 

428 


GFN1;RAI.    liKADDOCK'S   DFiFF.AT 

executive!!,   imagined   that  he  possessed   true  uiMi- 
tary  ),'eniiis,  which  is,  of  course,  wholly  indeiK-iKletit 
of  training  or  study.     The  capture  of  I-ouishourgs.,,,!.,  ,„, 
by  Slurlcy's  orders  and  under  Pepperell's  immedi-  '"•pw.-" 
ate  direction  had   rather  un<hily  inflated  Ixjih,  al- 
ihouRh  neither  had  very  much  to  do  with  it,  for  it 
was  (hie  chiefly  to  the  hhmilers  of  the  French'.    Still 
Peiipercll  acted  on  the  whole  wisely,  and  had  had 
some   little   military   experience.     Under  a   compe- 
tent general   he  would  have  been  a  valuable  airle, 
but  second  in  command  to  Shirley  he  was  almost 
as  useless  as  his  chief.     Yet  it  would  have  required 
a  Xapoleon  to  carry  out  tlie  scheme  of  taking  Ni- 
agara with  J.soo  men.     Probably  a  Napoleon  would 
not  have  attempted  it  in  that  way.     Their  scheme  a  oui.o„<: 
was  to  start  from  Albany  and  make  their  way  by  !»")«< 
river  and  road  through  the  woods  to  Oswego,  then 
by  water  to  Niagara,  and  back  to  Oswego  and  Al- 
bany.    That  journey  through  the  woods  with  his 
three  regiments  of  volunteers  and  skittish   Indians 
would  have  been,  under  ordinary  circumstances  bad 
enough.     But  the  start  was  made  so  late  that  be- 
fore they  had  gone  far  they  heard  of  Braddock's 
defeat  an<l  young  Shirley's  death,  and  army  and 
leader  were  discouraged.    The  course  lay  up  the  Mo- 
hawk, and  then,  at  the  great  carn-ing-place  (where 
Rome  now  stands),  by  march  to  Wood  Cre'-  and 
then  to  Oswego.     It  was  a  long  trip,  and  a  haz- 
ardous, hard  one.     The  men  grew  sick  and  dispir- 
ited.    Only  about  half  of  them  were  f^t  for  a  fight. 
I-uckily  no  enemy  was  encountered,  and  Oswego 
was  reached  safely.     But  there  Shirley  beard  that 
the  French  harl  got  a  large  force  at  Fort  Frontenac 
across  Lalo  Ontario,  and  were  prepared,  as  soon  as 
439 


THH    TKKCH.XH...HV    HISTOKV    OP    C...,, 
nis  force  left  for  V  ""'■■UA 

T..„.  i'^ '-'  '".n^  forir^^^rrrifT"  ''^^■'=^°- 

.6.».o„«,  to  cross  the  lake  and  take  Fo  p  ^''  ^=''  ^''^ 
">e"  l>roceed  ,o  Niajjara  R,!,  ',  ^™'««"='<:,  and 
pendens  an  nndertaking  for  tt  r"  '^'"^  '<^  ^"- 
^e  sorrowfnlly  jrave  f  S,' J %?''"' ^'''^'^J'' ^"d 
Oswego  to  protect  the  T  ,.^-'^'^^'"S^  7oo  men  at 
Frontenac,heseto,tf.   ,       '""'  ^'"'  "menace  Fort 

had  fou,>d  it  to  be,  ''TgJltrf'  "'"^'"'-  '"''" 
graveyard  of  reputations." 


CHAPTER    XXVI 


THE    SEVEN    years'    WAR    BEGUN 

'"PHUS  the  year  1755  was  a  very  calamitous  one 
■■•     for  British  arms  in  North  America.     Over- 
whelming:  disaster    followed    the    chief   campaign 
against  Fort  Duquesne ;  Crown  Point  and  Niagara 
were  not  taken ;  only  in  far-off  Acadia  was  there  a 
success,  and  there  victory  was  followed  by  disgrace 
in  the  cowardly  and  inhuman  expulsion  of  the  Aca- 
dians.     The  disaster  on  the  Monongahela  meant  am  North 
not   only   hell   on   the   frontiers   of   Pennsylvania  *°""'» 
Maryland,  and  Virginia.     It  meant  too  that  unless  Z'^. 
this  defeat  was  reversed  and  the  points  lost  were """''' 
regained  and  the  British  posts  advanced,  the  whole 
Ohio  country,  with  its  rich  furs  and  its  empire  of 
fertile  soil  guarded  by  savages,  would  be  French. 
If  the  Ohio  were  French,  all  North  America,  ex- 
cept the  little  fringe  of  settlements  along  the  At- 
lantic, would  be  French.     It  was  a  black  day  for 
the    English    in    America— happily,    however,    the 
darkness  before  the  dawn. 

Meanwhile  Great  Britain  and  France  were  not  atA,y„,„ 
war.     The  two  flags  had  met  in  deadly  combat  in  ""'"•■i"" 
the  forests  of  North  America  and  on  the  high  seas  "'"" 
and  many  lives  had  been  lost,  yet  there  was  no  dec- 
oration of  war.    But  for  the  first  time  in  history  a 
European  war  was  coming  on  chiefly  for  the  sake 
«'  Canada  — 3  Vol.  II 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
of  the  North  American  colonies.     France  would 
not  go  to  war  for  them,  but  Great  Britain  would 
Rather,  Great  Britain  must.     It  was  the  fury  of 
popular  sentiment  in  England,  at  the  defeats  of  Brit- 
ish arms  in  North  America  as  well  as  in  Europe, 
which  drove  the  imbecile  ministry  of  Newcastle  into 
the  semblance  of  activity  and  the  declaration  of 
d«Ld     n"""-     Th.s  was  made  May  i8,  1756.     Its  ostensi- 
May.8,,„6^'e  cause  was  the  attempt  on  the  pan  of  Russia 
1- ranee,  and  Austria,  to  compel  Frederick  the  Great 
to  give  up  Silesia.    It  was  a  mongrel  alliance,  and 
yet   It  did   not   necessarily  call   for  the  assistance 
of  Great  Britain  to  Frederick.     Undoubtedly  King 
George  was  guided  by  a  desire  to  keep  his  grip  on 
Hanover,  from  which  he  sprang.  AVhether  the  other 
powers  expected  England  to  take  any  part  in  the 
war   It   IS   difficult   to   know.      Authorities    differ 
iiiere  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  Great  Britain's 
main  motn-e  in  this  interference  was  to  win  back 
her  lost  ground  in  America.    France  did  not  want 
any   contest   with    Great   Britain   anywhere       She 
could  not   afford   it,  and  she  hoped   it  mio-ln  be 
a\erted.     Her  interest  in  the  European  war  was  at 
first  nominal  and  religious.     And  when  the  war 
came   on   she   seems   to   have   decided    to   let   the 
Canadians  f.ght  their  own  battles  with  as  little  help 
as  possible.     So  fai   as  the  Seven  Years'  War  in 
Europe  is  concerned  we  shall  care  little.    The  result 
was  the  ruin  of  France,  the  dwarfing  of  Austria 
and  the  glory  of  Prussia.     But  with  the  contest 
fought  m  America  we  shall  have  the  most  vital 
concern. 

The  result  of  that  contest  everv  reader  knows 
It  was  really  the  reward  which  New  France  won 

4t2 


The 

European 

phise 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 

from  her  long  campaign  against  the  Englisii  colo- 
nies' frontier.  That  point  has  been  made  so  often 
that  I  fear  it  may  have  become  trite.  Yet  a  full 
realization  of  that  principle  is  necessary  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  tlie  terrific  impulse  which  united  all 
these  colonies  in  a  grim  purpose  against  the  power 
of  France  in  America.  The  chieftains  at  Quebec 
and  Versailles  had  sown  the  wind,  now  they  were 
to  reap  th.i   vhirlwind. 

Nothing  can  be  more  striking  in  American  history  New 
than  the  change  which  came  over  the  New  England  f  "*'"" 

1        ■  I       ■  ,        ^  "  bound  I. 

colonies  durmg  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen-  v.ng.anc, 
tury.  Militant  and  aggressive  from  the  first  and 
ready  to  send  expeditions  by  sea  or  land  against  a 
foe,  they  were  yet  peaceful  and  just  in  life  and 
purtwse.  But  the  policy  which  Frontenac  in  his 
1-  days  encouraged,  if  he  did  not  originate,  of 
cnng  ra.ding  expeditions  against  the  homes  of 
peace-loving  settlers  in  New  England— this  policy 
carried  out  with  all  the  horrors  of  Indian  l  Hry, 
and  persisted  in  for  years,  at  last  wrought  upon 
the  Puritans  and  the  Pilgrims  until  they  were 
goaded  into  one  impulse  and  hope — the  destruction 
of  Canada.  They  were  slow  to  wrath,  but  at  last 
they  had  become  thoroughly  and  terribly  aroused. 
Alone  and  unaided  they  had  determined  to  conquer  De«™i„ed 
Quebec,  as  they  had  conquered  Annapolis  and  Louis-  n„"i,^'"° 
bourg.  The  failures  of  the  expeditions  against 
Quebec  did  not  shake  their  purpose.  No  other 
colony  had  such  a  firm  conviction,  or  such  a  clear 
conscience  on  the  affair.  True,  the  Bostonians  had 
not  always  exemplified  the  square  deal,  and  hypo- 
critical conduct  was  not  rare,  but  at  bottom  the 
attitude  of  these  colonies  had  been  honest  in  dealing 


sorry 
ret  1)1  (I 


Her 

scliisliness 


THE    TKRCHXTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
N- Vo,w,  with  tl,e  Freeh  and  the  Indians.     No  ravishing  ex- 
■        ped.tions  apanist  nnprotceted  towns  had  ever  delib- 
erately started  from  New  England.     New  York   o,t 
the  other  hand,  had  a  sorry  record  to  show.    It  had 
actually  instigated  the  Iroquois  to  their  deviltry  and 
could  not  hold  any  righteous  indignation  against 
the  French  for  turning  the  tables.     Yet  New  York 
dKl  not  suffer  in  any  measure  the  woes  visited  upon 
Massachusetts    for   the   rca,son   that   main-   of   the 
French  Ind,an.s  could  not  l,e  induced  to  fall  upon 
New  \ork  settlements,  because  these  redskins  were 
related  by  tribe  and  blood  to  the  Mohawks    who 
constituted  a  large  part  of  the  population  of  many 
New  \ork  towns.     The  part  New  York  played  in 
all  these  colonial  negotiations  was  a  purely  selfish 
one.     New  England,  l.ft  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
French  and   Indian  onslaught,  was  ready  to  fight 
Canada    single-handed.       She    had    won    all    the 
victories   against   French   power  that   were   worth 
winning,  and  had  become  wrought  up  to  the  poiin 
of  undertaking  alone  to  assail  Quebec.     But  fate 
decreed  that  this  was  not  necessary.   Massachusetts, 
which  had  sought  the  cooperation  of  other  colonies 
and  been  coolly  ignored,  was  to  have  help      This 
help    came    from    precisely    the    same    source    as 
the  initial  irritation  and  wrath  of  Massachusetts- 
I'rench-Indian  slaughtering  bands.    Virginia,  Mary- 
land, and  Pennsylvania  would  do  nothing  to  help 
Massachusetts  take  Louisbourg,  or  Quebec,  because 
they  were  not  mterested.  having  not  suffered.     But 
when  after  Braddock's  defeat  the  inferno  of  Indian 
war,  pillage,  and  murder  opened  upon  the  peaceful 
villages  of  those  three  colonies,  the  reaction  came 
and  they  aroused  from  their  lethargy  and  became  as 

434 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 

Clamorous    for   revenge   as    Massachusetts.      New  En,„.„ 
York  saw  where  her  interests  lay  and  joined  the  hue"'°°'" 
and  cry.     New  Jersey,  acting  then  as  now,  did  ^sZ'^"^'" 
iNew  York  did.    Hence  at  the  opening  of  the  French  •'«'—»"• 
and  Indian  war  in  America  we  find  all  the  colonies 
united  and  eager  to  conquer  New  France     It  was 
this  union  which  grew  into  the  greater  union  against 
linfish  blundering  and  injustice  a  few  years  later 
In  addition  to  the  colonial  forces,  public  sentiment 
in  England,  as  we  have  seen,  was  compelling  the 
government   to  send  an   Imperial    force   of  great 
strength  to  assist  or  lead  in  the  subjugation  of  New 
France.     No  such  an  aggregation  had  ever  before      ■ 
menaced  Canada.     It  was  so  powerful  as  to  seem 
irresistible. 

VAUDRF.UIL,    BIGOT,    AND    MONTCALM 

What  was  the  equipment  of   New  France  withN.„ 
which  to  oppose  this  great  force?     We  have  seen''""" 
that  in  population  and  education  New  France  wa.s  Tm^o;" 
much  inferior  to  the  British  colonies.     What  she^"""' 
had  as  her  chief  fortress  of  strength,  was  her  cen-  °°°' 
tralized  and  mobile  form  of  government,  an  ideal 
one   for   any  new  and   pioneer  state.      The   gov- 
ernor-general's authority  was  supreme,  and  he  dealt 
directly  with   the  king  or  his  ministers.     In   the 
British  system,  however,  there  were  thirteen  dis- 
cordant colonies,  easier  to  keep  apart  than  to  get 
together.    One  was  autocracy,  the  other  democracy. 
But  autocracy,  the  main  source  of  the  power  of  New  where 
France,  was  to  prove  its  most  vital  weakness.    The  i""'""'" 
agents  of  this  autocracy  had  become  gross,  corrupt, 
and  inefficient.     They  were  preying  upon  the  state 
and  upon  the  king.    In  this  time  of  stress  and  peril 
435 


la  weak 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

blunderer  ^  /"  ">«  Summer  of  1755  when  Dieskau  came  to 
take  command  of  the  armies  of  New  France  there 
came  with  him  the  new  governor,  the  Marquis  <le 
Vaudretnl,  son  of  the  -overnor  who  followed  I'Von- 
tenac.  He  had  few  _,r  no  qualifications  for  the 
office,  and  was  a  failure  from  the  start  His  ex 
penence  as  Governor  of  Louisiana  ought  to  have 
assisted  m  equipping  him  for  his  task  at  Quebec 
bu    there  are  no  indications  of  it.     His  character^ 

proceeds.  He  came  under  apparently  excellent 
conditions,  m  succession  to  Duquesne,  whose  health 
was  poor,  and  he  was  warmly  welcomed  to  Quebec 
because  he  was  a  native  of  Canada.  Too  often  the 
native  makes  the  poorest  ruler  of  a  country  It 
was  so  in  Vaudreuil's  case. 

Vaudreuil  was  at  best  only  a  blunderer,  but  there 
.was  an  official  in  Canada  of  whom  this  could  not 
De  said.     That  was  the  intendant,  Francois  Bigot, 
who  h-..d  come  out  with  La  Jonquiere  in  1750  and 
was  as  shrewd  a  knave  as  appears  in  the  annals  of 
New    France.     He    was    as    immoral    as    he   was 
corrupt  m  finances.     The  perfection  to  which  he 
carried  the  game  of  graft  would  put  to  blush  the 
neophytes  in  crime  of  the  twentieth  century      He 
famied  out  offices  with  admirable  results  to  himself 
The  most  blatant  of  these  coadjutors  was  Joseph 
Cadet,  whom  Bigot  raised  from  butcher  to  commis- 
sary-general, and  who  became  the  richest  man  in  the 
colony.  The  vast  sums  that  the  king  sent  for  war 
found  their  way  into  the  pockets  of  this  lovely  pair 
The  soldiers  were  not  paid,  and  the  people  were 

43(i 


Bigot, 
chief  of  the 
corrupt 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 

without  bread  because  of  the  thefts  of  Bigot  and 
Cadet.  In  the  two  years  before  the  conquest  of  New 
France  by  Wolfe,  Bigot  profited  by  the  kings  and 
the  country's  treasure  to  the  extent  of  five  millions 
of  dollars.  He  was  as  cruel  and  false  as  he  was 
corrupt  and  licentious,  His  type  may  be  found  in 
no  nation  today  except  Russia  and,  possibly,  China. 

Yet,  honeycombed  with  corruption  as  was  French  suco..  not 
administration,  and  opposed  as  the  small  forces  of '""""'"' 
New  France  were  to  the  huge  armies  of  England, '  '  '"'""" 
there  is  no  doubt  that  at  the  out.set  of  the  struggle! 
and  for  a  long  period  of  its  course,  the  chances  of 
victory  lay  all  with  the  French.  Posterity  has  for- 
gotten or  is  ignorant  of  this  fact.  We  arc  so 
prone  to  regard  the  sweep  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  as 
irresistible  that  we  impatiently  brush  aside  any  in- 
cident or  argument,  past  or  present,  which  points  to 
a  different  result.  Contemporary  judgment,  how- 
ever, must  correct  this  error  so  far  as  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  in  America  was  concerned. 
Aside  from  the  vainglorious  boasting  of  the  colo- 
nial and  British  officers,  there  was  deep  appre- 
hension as  to  the  result  of  the  war.  Boston  and 
New  York  knew  that  conquering  Louisbourg  or 
Port  Royal  was  an  entirely  different  thing  from 
taking  Quebec. 

On  the  day  of  the  declaration  of  war  by  Great  M,„.cai„, 
Britain  against  France  and  her  allies,  the  French  •="""""'" 
expedition  to  America  was  in  the  St.  Lawrence  "'""°""" 
approaching  Quebec.     Its  leader,  destined  to  win 
immortality  and  to  deserve  it.  was  Louis  Joseph 
Marquis  de  Montcalm.     Nothing  so  became  France 
m  her  control  in  North  America  as  the  character 
of  her  first  and  last  leaders  here.    There  were  many 

437 


How 

Montcalm 
chanced  to 
trail  ttiis 
army 


His 

splendid 
record 


TllIC  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OE  CANADA 
differences  in  life  and  purpose  and  conduct  between 
Uianiplain  and  Montcalm,  but  they  were  alike  in 
being  honorablo,  heroic,  able,  ami  loyal  gentlen.en 
— unhkc  many  of  those  whom  the  falling  nation 
sent  to  Its  colony  in  the  New  World.  Montcnlni 
was  chosen  to  command  this  expedition  because  no 
other  general  wanted  the  place.  There  was  more 
gory  n„d  honor  in  the  lOuropean  campaigns,  an.l 
all  the    onrt  favorites  asked  for  a  chance  there     So 

drafted  Montcalm.    His  action  and  words  on  being 

notmed  ot  the  command  were  gallant  and  Gallic 

He  was,   he  said,   willing  to  go  and  glad  of  the 

honor  but  he  hated  to  leave  Ins  fatnily  and  regretted 

that  the  command  would  not  enable  him  to  save 

any  money  to  relieve  his  encumbered  estate     To  be 

sure  there  wo^e  plenty  of  opportunities  for  him  in 

America   to  clear  any  possible  mortgage  off  that 

ttle  estate    but  Montcalm  knew  nothing  of  them 

then,  and  afterward  despised  the  chance,  which  was 

indeed,  no  temptation  t^  •  him. 

He  was  a  native  of  ,i,e  south  of  France,  which 
has  produced  so  many  leaders,  including  Presidents 
Loubet  and  Fallieres,  and  had  seen  service  in  s^v- 

as  the  e^•uiences  of  valur,  and  he  had  been  often 
gazetted  or  brave  acts.  He  was  forty-five  years 
of  age  when  appointed,  and  his  rank  in  the  army 

Xr^l'^Tv"""--."''  home  was  at  Candiac^ 
^vhere  lived  his  wife  an,-'  ten  children  and  bis 
mother,  to  whom  he  w.is  deeply  attached.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  find  a  better  representative  of  the 
elegant  and  refined  gentleman  soldier  of  France  of 
the  eighteenth  century  than  Montcalm.  He  had 
«8 


Vftudrcnli 
in  neaiiul 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
but  one  kiio-vn  failing,  a  hot  temper,  which,  unlike 
Washington,  he  did  not  keep  under  perfect  control 
V\e  have  already  seen  how  great  an  advantage 
Wew  !■  ranee  possessed  at  the  outset  in  this  cam- 
paign for  supremacy  in  America.     That  advantage 
was  trebled  by  the  leadership  „f  Montcalm.     Yet 
m  that  very  situation  was  a  weakness,  one  of  those 
many  weaknesses  which  in  the  end  meant  ruin,  for 
mdeed  it  was  because  he  was  not  actually  in  supreme 
commaiKl  of  the  armies  that  the  blunders  were  made 
which  proved  fatal  to  the  safety  of  Ouebec     Vau- 
dreuil  was   as  governor,  in  nominal  command,  and 
m  h.s  jealousy  he  thwarted   Montcalm's  plans  in 
small  things,   while  not  daring  to  oppose   him   in 
great  ones.    This  divided  command  in  an  autocratic 
state  was  an  anomaly  and  a  blunder,  but  it  was  a 
part  of  French  policy,  as  we  have  seen  so  ofte..  in 
the  divisions  between  governor  and  intendant.   Vau- 
dreuil  protested  against  any  other  general  than  him- 
self  thinking  he,  as  a  civilian,  was  quite  as  capable 
as  Shirley  to  command  armies  and  direct  campaitms. 
But  the  French  ministry  was  wise  for  once,  and  n.iul 
no  attention  to  his  protest. 
"S"''      "^'  ^'^*-  Montcalm  was  busied  with  organizin,:  his 
^„         new  army.     He  had  brought  with  him  only  i -co 
men    a  force  the  pettiness  of  which  showed  how 
small  was  the  interest  of  the  king  in  New  France 
in  comparison  with  the  European  contest,  to  which 
he  sent  over  100,000  men.     But  small  as  was  the 
army,  ,t  was  one  of  the  l^st  forces  ever  at  work 
on  this  contitient.     "The  puppies  fight  well,"  said 
Wellington  of  the  London  fops  in  the  Napoleonic 
wars.     The  same  could  be  said  of  these  city-bred 
French  troops.    But  for  their  excellence  Montcalm 


THE  SEVEN   YEARS'  WAR   BEGUN 
a.)d  his  renerals  were  .nuch    csponsiblc.    Levis  and 
Buur  amaque  were  second  a„<l  third  i„  ca,.,n,and, 

ItZnT    T     'T  ""'''"■'  ""^  Bentlenien.     Of....,, 

n      u         '\    "'^'"'"'  ""''  <-"=>"='Ji'-">  militia  at  ther"'"*^'' 
nne  M„ntcalm  arrive,!  it  is  „nt  ,K«sible  to  speak  "'" 
vvuh  certam.y.     The  re,.-,lars  ,u„nhercd  ,.7,..''  d 
the  colonia    regulars  1  ccn      Tl„.  r-.n    ,    ^-     , 
rnn«ic.„  I      f     Ti     ,r     '•"         '"i-  tanadiaii  inihtia 
conMstcl  of  all  al.lc-bodie.l   men,  hm   there   were 

So  that  Montcalm  s  force,  excluding  Indians,  d,d 
not  ex  eed  ,.,000  men.     Into  this  force  Montcalm 
infused  most  of  the  enthusiasn,  and  vigor  of  hi 
own  nature.  *" 

There  was  little  else  for  him  to  do.  for  the  English 

tha  he  had  been  reheved  of  the  con.man.l  of  the 
Bnt.sh  forces  m  America  and  that  the  Eirl  of  Lou- 
don would  succeed  him.     The  noble  earl  nianaged 

after  his  appomtment.     Under   the  circumstances 
Shirley   could    take   no   aggressive   stand,   and    h 
merely  ,     .^d   ,0  be  relieved.     Abercrombie  and 
Webb.  .0  be  sut-e,  arrived  in  June  and  took  con. 
mand  m  Loudon  s  name,  but  they  did  nothing.    Nor 
did  Loudon  ,lo  much  when  he  came.     He  found  Th. 
about  6.000  men  of  all  .sorts  gathered  about  Albany  """«';"» 
and  at  Fort  Wilham  Henry  on  Lake  George  and-^cT' 
For    Edward  on  the  Hudson,  and  he  washable 
to  plan  any  campaign  against  the  French  at  Tir  m- 
deroga  and  Crown  Point  on  Lake  Champlain.     .  1 
whole  British  force  was  in  an  undisciplined,  qua" 
elsome  condition.   Eacli  colony  was  wrangling  with 
Its  neighbor.  anH  n,;,uu  ^_  .    ,       .     ^     f^     '"' 


441 


liCb,    KCCiMllg    bub- 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
ordinate  those  with  the  rank  of  volunteers,  made  all 
of  them  angry  at  and  jealous  of  the  British  regulars. 

OSWEGO    CAPTURED    BY    MONTCALM 

On  the  other  hand,  Montcalm  did  not  as  yet  feel 
justified  in  taking  the  initiative.    He  could  afford  to 
wait.    Afeanwhile  he  undertook  a  daring  side  project 
SsTh"   -the  capture  of  Oswego.     Vaudreuil  claimed  the 
crrii,        credit  of  suggesting  that  campaign  and  even  of 
giving  the  orders,  but  Montcalm  actually  led  the 
campaign  and  deserved  the  honor  of  the  victory 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  year  before,  1755, 
Stnrley's  plan  of  campaign  was  to  use  Oswego  as' 
a  base  to  capture  Niagara.     But  when  he  reached 
Oswego  he  found  that  Fort  Frontenac,  across  the 
lake   had  been  freshly  and  heavily  garrisoned,  and 
Its  force  would  spring  upon  Oswego  the  moment 
he  left  to  take  Niagara.     So  his  campaign  w.,s  a 
failure,  and,  leaving  a  garrison  at  Oswego,  he  went 
sadly  home.     That  garrison  was  then  scandaJously 
"ff'f^'f^  ^y  the  British  authorities,  and  for  this 
swe,  ■„    Shirley  s  responsibility  was  clear.   No  effort  was  made 
tor  months  to  reenforce  or  provision  the  garrison. 
Meanwhile,  for  want  of  proper  food  and  care,  sick- 
ness wrought  great  havoc.    One  English  expedition, 
under  Colonel  Bradstreet,  had  indeed  been  success- 
fully conducted  to  Oswego  with  its  supplies,  but 
on  Its  return  it  was  harassed  by  a  large  body  of 
i*rench  and  Indians  under  the  same  Coulon  de  Vil- 
hers  who  had  defeated  Washington  at  Fort  Neces- 
sity.    That  affray  made  Shirley  wary  about  prep- 
arations for  subsequent  expeditions.     At  the  same 
time  he  knew  the  French  were  preparing  to  attack 
It,  and  his  engineers  had  reported  that  it  was  in  no 
442 


THE   SEVEN   YEARS'  WAR   BEGUN 
condition  to  resist.     Stories  of  the  famine  and  ill- 
ness of  the  garrison  also  reached  him.    So  he  begai 
to  fit  up  his  relief  expedition.     Meanwhile  Aber- 
crom^e  and  Webb  arrived,  and  Shirley  resigned 
ihe  Oswego  expedition  was  delayed,  and  it  was 
not  until  August  that  it  set  out  under  Webb.    When  Eng,i.h 
It  arrived  at  the  great  carrying-place  the  news  of'""'. 
the  capture  of  Oswego  by  Montcalm  reached  Webb  'T 
and  he  promptly  lost  his  head.     The  report  added 

w  U''t  ^'■^"*  "^"^  °"  *"■■  ^^y  to  Albany,  and 
Webb  began  a  helter-skelter  retreat.  He  threw 
trees  into  Wood  Creek,  which  he  had  just  cleared 
of  them  after  prod  dus  labor,  and  he  burned  the 
forts  at  the  carrying-place,  the  sole  defense  of  the 
English  and  Dutch  settlers  of  i  t  region.  For  that 
act  Webb  deserved  a  court-martial,  but  he  escaped 
scot  free.  That  was  the  year  Byng  was  shot  for 
an  act  which,  while  in  results  much  more  serious 
was  m  intent  less  culpable. 

The  story  of  the  capture  of   Oswego  may  be 
quickly  told.     Montcahn  hurried  from  Ticonderoga 
to  Montreal,  then  to  Frontenac,  which  he  reached 
on  July  29.    On  August  4  he  crossed  the  lake,  and 
m  a  few  days  the  attack  began.     It  was  a  most  un- 
equal contest.    Against  the  700  half-starved  and  sick 
men  in  a  fort  hardly  better  than  a  barn  and  de- 
fended by  small  guns  was  arrayed  a  fresh  force  of 
3,000  men  armed  with  modern  siege-guns  and  full  of 
enthusiasm.     Colonel  Mercer,  the  commandant,  was  The  French 
killed  early  in  the  engagement,  and  before  the  fight-''"""''' 
ing  became  general  or  the  big  guns  of  the  French'""'"" 
had  come  into  play  the  garrison  raised  a  white  flag 
The  capitulation  was  speedily  signed.     Montcalm 
had  all  he  could  do  to  protect  the  1,300  prisoners 

443 


gain 

complete 

control 


Montcalm 
cou  ntcd 
a  wizard 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
from  tlie  vengeance  of  the  reds,  and  had  to  pay 
roundly  in  presents  to  them  for  their  restraint.     The 
fort  was  burned,  and  the  victorious  army  returned 
to  Frontenac  and  Montreal. 
Th,  French      jt  ^,,35  ^  stinging  blow  at  Enghsh  prestige  ai-d 
pride,  such  a  blow  as  would  almost  have  crushed  a 
people  without  tremendous  leserve  forces.     It  left 
the  whole  St.  Lawrence,  which  had  been  guarded 
at  Oswego  for  thirty  years,  without  an  English  sta- 
tion, and  gave  the  French  complete  control  over 
the  route  from  Quebec  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico     It 
almost  destroyed  the  work  which  Johnson  had  just 
done  among  the   Iroquois,  in  confirming  them  ,p 
their  neutrality,  which  was  the  best  pledge  he  could 
obtain  from  tliem.     It  made  Montcalm  to  his  men 
and  the  American  redskins  a  demigod,  and  to  the 
Enghsh  and  colonial  troops  a  wizard  and  destroyer. 
As  we  have  seen,  the  capture  was  almost  a  bur- 
lesque, so  easily  was  it  accomplished,  but  the  world 
did  not  realize  this  for  months  afterward      Park- 
man  calls  the  victory  the  greatest  French  arms  had 
yet  won   in  America,  counting   Braddock's  defeat 
an  Indian  success.     Probably  he  meant  a  French 
victory  over  the  English,  for  certainly  Frontenac's 
campaigns  against  the  Iroquois  were  more  decisive 
and  involved  more  daring  and  strategic  movements.' 
Nor  is  It  fair  to  regard  Monongahela  as  wholly  an 
Indian  victory,  for  it  was  directed  by  the  French 
and    they   were    responsible.      But,    in    its   effects' 
Oswego   constituted   a    splendid   and    far-reaching 
campaign.     What  with  that  calamity  and  the  inac- 
tion of  Loudon  throughout  the  summer,  autumn 
and  winter,  the  year  closed  most  dismally  for  the 
English.     The  French  and  their  foeo  continued  to 

444 


THE   SEVEN    YEARS'   WAR   BEGUN 

face  each  other  on  the  lakes,  and  occasional  raMs  ri,.  ,oiun. 
by  the  English  under  Rogers,  the  ranger   and  by'"""""" 
the  French  under  Rigaud,  the  governor's  brother,  "°°" 
kept   up   the   pretense   of   warfare.      When    win- 
ter came  most  of  the  English  and  Canadian  volun- 
teers went  to  their  homes  (to  return  or  not  in  the 
spring,  as  they  saw  fit),  while  only  the  regulars 
braved  the  winter's  rigor,  their  commanders  pass- 
ing their  time  in  the  more  or  less  gay  society  of 
Albany  on  the  one  side  and  Quebec  and  Montreal 
on  the  other. 

WILLIAM    PITT    AT    THE    HELM 

Yet  with  all  its  cheer  for  the  French  and  gloom 
for  the  English,  the  capture  of  Oswego  proved  fatal 
to  the  French.     For  this  and  the  fall  of  Minorca 
so  enraged  the  English  nation  that  the  wretched 
Newca-nle  was  driven  from  power,  and  upon  the 
threshold  of  the  world's  affairs  stepped  the  man 
who  was  to  save  England  and  make  her  great,  Wil- 
liam Pitt.    It  was  only  one  more  of  the  many  illus- 
trations which  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  seen  of 
the  fact  that   in  a  democracy  these  nation-savers 
are  developed  and  are  produced   when  the  crisis 
comes.     The  Duke  of  Devonshire  became  premier, 
but  Pitt  was  the  real  ruler.     That  was  in  Novem- 
ber, 1756.     Within  a  month  the  hand  of  the  doer  N..,piri, 
became  evident.     England  entered  upon  a  defense  '" '"' 
program  of  sanity  and  strength.     The;,  she  started  "'"""" 
troops  to  India  and  the  West  Indi.  3,  and  the  over- 
whelming number  of  19,000  men  were  ordered  to 
America,  to  wipe  out  the  stain  of  Oswego  and  the 
Monongahela.     From  that  moment  until  the  death 
of  the  king  in   1760  there  was  no  doubt  of  the 

445 


THE    TKRCKNTKNARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

tZt  T'?  """^  '"«P''"-'"'°"  of  Britain  in  war.  Had 
in  c.n.da  >■ '"  becii  111  |Knver  when  war  was  inaugurated  lie 
would  no  doubt  liave  kept  out  of  the  Prussian 'im- 
broglio and  centred  all  efforts  on  the  defeat  of 
France  m  Euroiie  and  America.  Thrown  into  lead- 
ership after  war  had  been  on  for  most  of  a  vear 
he  could  pursue  that  policy  of  concentration  ori 
1- ranee  as  the  main  and  not  as  the  only  war  pro- 
gram. He  did,  however,  keep  as  manv  soldiers  out 
of  Germany  as  possible  and  made  America  a  <rreat 
battleground.  He  did  mi..:,  more.  He  sawliow 
!■  ranee  was  neglecting  her  navy,  and  he  resolutely 
gulden  England  into  that  policv  of  a  big  navy 
whjch  remains  to  this  day  her  fimi  principle  and 
unalterable  purpose.  To  him  was  due  the  plan 
ol  campaign  which  made  Canada  British  and 
kept  It  so. 

His  path  was  by  no  means  a  free  one,  either  in 
battle  or  at  court.  Devonshire  and  he  could  not 
muster  a  parliamentary  majority,  and  the  ministry 
was  dismissed  largely  by  the  whim  of  the  king  act- 
ing under  pressure  from  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland, who  wished  to  command  the  British  troops 
in  Prussia.  But  the  country  demamied  that  Pitt 
come  again  into  power,  and  Ly  a  bargain  with  New- 
castle, which  seems  necessary  in  democracies,  and 
which  often  results  ultimately  in  the  accomplishment 
of  noble  purposes.  Pitt  became  master  of  England 
^ewcastle  indeed  was  premier,  but  he  kept  his  hands 
off  the  helm  cf  state  and  confined  his  activities  to 
pf^'-cs  purely.  On  the  field  Pitt's  progress,  espe- 
c  '"r'ng  his  first  year,  was  no  less  tortuous     He 

h^  .  .  ardly  got  in  office  before  the  news  of  the  fall 
p.,r„...„.  of  Calcutta  and  the  unspeakable  horror  of  the  Black 


Piu's 
tortuous 
path  in 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 
Hole  reached  England,  and  it  was  over  a  year  before 
Clive  won  the  victory  at  Plassey  which  marked  the 
turning  of  the  tide  in  India.  The  Duke  of  Cumber- 
^  id,  of  course,  got  himself  into  a  pretty  mess  in 
Frussia,  and  was  compelled  to  surrender,  a  fact 
which  probably  cost  Pitt  few  pangs.  An  expedition 
agaiiLst  Rochefort  like  that  of  the  previous  decade 
was  a  miserable  failure. 


LOUDON'S     CAMPAIGN     AGAINST 
A    FAILURE 


LOUISBOURG 


And   how   were  things   progressing   in   America? 
Alas!   Pitt   could   supply   the  troops,   but  not   the 
transports  or  the  brains  to  command.     The  plan  The 
lor  the  year  1757  m  America  included  the  capture  ""»p'''K'> 
hrst  of  Louisbourg  and  then  of  Quebec.     The  first"'"" 
battalion  of  reenforcements  reached  Loudon  in  Jan- 
uary  but  It  was  July  before  the  remainder,  seven 
battalions,  arrived  at  Halifax.     We  may  well  ques- 
hon  the  wisdom  of  a  campaign  which  made  Louis- 
bourg Its  central  object  and  diverted  a  great  army 
trom  the  Champlain  region  to  that   new  field  of 
operations  in   Cape  Breton.     But  Loudon  entered  a„ 
heartily  into  the  scheme  and  really  originated  it  '"'""'"" 
He  was  to  take  his  army  to  Halifax,  meet  the  sol-"" 

under  Holbourne.  As  usual,  the  expedition  was 
late.  Loudon  fus.sed  around  all  spring,  wa.line  to 
hear  of  its  arrival  at  Hahfax.  He  had  assembled 
h.s  troops  at  New  York,  and  at  last,  in  desperafon 
sailed  with  them  for  Halifax  on  June  20  If  he 
had  known  that  three  swift  French  squadrons  were 
on  the  sea  bound  for  Louisbourg,  he  would  hardly 
have  dared  the  voyage.     But  he  reached  Halifax 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 


Hol- 


without  incident,  and,  as  luck  would  have  it, 
bourne's  fleet  soon  canie  limping  in. 

So  far  so  good.  But  then  the  policy  of  dilly- 
dallying again  got  the  upper  hand,  and  between 
drilling  and  raising  vegetables  for  their  own  sup- 
plies, the  troops  did  not  get  under  way  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Louisbourg  until  August  4.  On  that  very 
day,  however,  the  news  came  of  the  arrival  of  the 
French  fleet  at  Louisbourg.  Yet  those  warships 
had  arrived  there  a  month  before  Holbourne  reached 
T.  .  .  Halifax.  This  fact  speaks  volumes  for  the  secret 
Th.^F„„ch  service  of  the  British  army  and  navy.  During  the 
war  with  Spam  the  American  Commodore  Schley 
was  censured  for  not  finding  in  a  week  where  Cer- 
vera  was.  Even  granting  the  greater  elasticity  of 
torces  and  ease  of  communication  made  possible  by 
the  use  of  steam  and  the  telegraph  to-day  it  is  very 
apparent  that  Loudon  and  Holbourne  were  wofullv 
deficient  in  spies. 

The  arrival  of  this  information  at  once  took  the 
hght  out  of  Loudon.  He  gave  up  and  sailed  with 
his  I2,CX30  men  for  New  York.  This  flunk  on  his 
part  clearly  showed  his  calibre.  Holbourne  was  evi- 
dently ready  for  the  attack,  for  after  Loudon  had 
gone  he  sailed  up  to  Louisbourg  Harbor,  trying  to 
tempt  ;he  French  warships  into  an  engagement 
Lven  if  Louisbourg  had  7,000  defenders  as  re- 
ported, Loudon's  12,000,  supported  by  Holbourne 
ought  to  have  made  it  an  equal  contest.  This  turn- 
tail  action  is  in  significant  contrast  with  the  daring 
and  successful  exploit  of  New  England  fishermen 
and  farmers  only  a  dozen  years  before.  Clearly 
Albion  needed  a  leader  in  America.  He  was  com- 
mg,  although  at  that  time  he  did  not  know  it. 
448 


Loudon's 
courage 

gone 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 


THE    CAPTURE   OF    FORT    WILLIAM    HENRY 

A  REFRESHING  Contrast  to  the  slow  methods  of  the 
English  information  bureau  was  that  aflforded  by 
the  French.     Montcalm  learned  early  in  June  that 
Loudon  had  sailed   for  Louisbourg,  and  at  once 
decided  to  take  advantage  of  the  army's  removal. 
We  are  now  coming  to  another  exhibition  of  Brit- 
ish generalship  as  pitiable  as  Loudon's,  and  a  hun- 
Montcjm   ^redfold  more  disastrous  in  its  eflfects.     Montcalm 
i^T'    ^.''""'''«''  ^'  Ticonderoga  3,000  regulars,  3,000  mili- 
tiamen, and  2,000  Indians,  and  prepared  to  march 
south  even  as  far  as  Albany.    Contemporary  chron- 
iclers describe  with  much  detail  the  varying  tribes 
of  Indians  gathered  at  Ticonderoga.    Many  of  them 
attracted  by  the  tales  of  Montcalm's  prowess,  had 
come  from  beyond  the  Mississippi,  eager  to  look 
into  his  face  and  to  fight  under  him.     That  they 
were  barbarous  and  cruel  and  uncontrollable  will 
presently  appear.     Some  of  their  scouting  parties 
were  successful  from  the  start,  and  their  cannibal- 
istic appetites  were  only  whetted  by  these  petty 
victories. 
J-ucS'""'   /^°"tcalm  had  carefully  planned  first  the  capture 
of  Fort  William  Henry  at  the  southern  e:  a  of  Lake 
George.    That  was  garrisoned  by  2,200  mr-n  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Monro.     There  was  a  portage 
from  that  point  to  the  Hudson,  where  Fort  Ed- 
ward   stood,    held   by    3,600   men   under    Colonel 
Daniel  Webb,  the  same  man  who  conducted  that 
disorderly  and  cowardly  retreat  down  the  Mohawk 
on  hearing  of  the  capture  of  Oswego.     On  Au- 
gust   I    Montcalm   left   Ticonderoga    and,   accom- 
panied   by   his    white   and    red    associates,    glided 
450 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 

down  that  exquisite  and  beautiful  lake,  which  too 
few  Americans  of  to-day  enjoy.  On  the  second 
night  they  arrived,  unsuspected,  at  a  bivouac  two 
miles  from  Fort  William  Henry,  on  the  west  shore,  s„rpri.i„, 
and  drew  up  canoes  on  the  banks.  But  some  sight ''°" 
or  sound  attracted  the  attention  of  the  fort,  and  Zi^" 
two  boats  were  sent  out  to  investigate.  When  they 
were  drawing  near  a  sheep  bleated,  and,  whirling 
about,  the  English  oarsmen  pulled  like  mad  for  the 
east  shore.  They  reached  it,  but  a  hundred  canoes 
had  leaped  into  the  water  as  they  turned,  and  by 
the  time  the  English  had  gained  the  shore  firing 
was  general.  Some  of  the  English  were  killed, 
others  captured,  and  a  few  escaped.  Most  un- 
luckily for  the  English,  they  killed  a  great  chief  of 
the  Nipissings,  and  great  was  the  grief  of  his  tribe 
and  loud  their  cries  for  vengeance. 

With  the  dawn  the  siege  of  the  fort  became  a 
fact.  Levis  had  marched  his  men  to  the  south  of 
the  fort  and  Montcalm  threw  up  batteries  to  the 
left  and  north,  near  the  site  of  the  present  town 
of  Lake  George.  It  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  de- 
scribe this  campaign.  It  was  too  short  and  feature- 
less. Montcalm  conducted  the  siege  along  regular 
models  and  in  the  be.st  form,  advancing  from  day 
to  day,  and  pouring  into  the  fort  a  deadly  fire  from 
his  big  guns.  Monro  was  on  the  first  day  sum- Th.  .1,^. 
moned  to  capitulate,  but  refused.  Meanwhile  the '"«"° 
Indians  with  Montcalm  were  doing  little  of  value, 
delightrd  like  the  children  they  were  with  the  whole 
panorama  of  battle  and  especially  with  the  music  of 
the  siege  guns.  They  did  none  of  the  scouting  work 
they  were  supposed  to  do  and  got  in  Montcalm's 
way,  to  the  taxing  of  his  small  stock  of  patience. 


Webb 

would 
nol  help 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
Meanwhile    diat  was  Webb  doing  at  Fort  Ed- 


ward    o„ly  fourteen  m,les  away?     He  had  visited 
Monro  only  the  week  before,  knew  that  the  attack 
was  expected,  and  had  promised  to  po  to  Monro's 
help  with   h,s   whole   army.     He   did   send    t.ooo 
men,  who  reached  the  fort  the  day  before  Mont- 
cahn  reachcl  it.     So  far  so  good."^  But  this  was 
a  crisis  when  to  'Vend  a  boy  to  mill"  as  he  did  was 
a  gross  blunder.     The  i,ooo  men  he  sent  were  not 
enough  to  save  the  fort,  and  could  only  become  just 
so  many  more  prisoners  in  Montcalm's  hands      It 
has  been  urged  in  Webb's  defense  that  the  2,600 
men  left  in  his  command  were  all  that  stood  between 
Montcalm  and  Albany.     But  could  they  have  done 
anything  to  obstruct  Montcalm's  march  if  he  were 
minded  to  go  to  Albany?     By  no  means.     It  does 
not  require  a  soldier  to  see  that  Webb's  action  was 
a  blunder  from  any  standpoint.     He  had  promised 
Monro  that  he  would  come  to  his  aid  with  all  his 
army.     Yet  when,  on  the  3d,  Monro  wrote  of  the 

W^kk'k  f  l''-^  ''''"'^^'  ^"''  '=""  °f  their  attack, 
Webb  broke  his  word.  He  did  not  stir.  At  last 
on  the  4th,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Monro,  advising 
him  to  surrender.  The  bearer  of  it  was  killed  and 
the  letter  carried  to  Montcalm,  who  after  three  days 
sent  It  to  Monro  by  his  aide. 

By  this  time  it  was  plainly  all  up  with  the  gar- 
rison. Many  had  been  killed,  the  guns  were  dis- 
abled, the  fort  had  been  breached,  an<i  smallpox 
su„<„dc„,  ^'^^  '■^S;>ng.  All  of  the  French  guns  had  not  yet 
Aug. ,  opened  fire,  and  when  they  did  the  slaughter  would 
be  terrible.  On  the  qth  Monro  raised  a  white  f]ag 
and  a  parley  with  Montcalm  ensued.  The  capitu- 
lation was  signed  promptly.     Its  terms  were  that 


The  fori 


THE   SEVEN    YEARS'   WAR    BEGUN 
the  English  troops  should  niar-h  out  with  all  there,™, 
honors  of  war  and  be  escorted  lu  Fort  Edward  by°'""= 
a   detachment   from   Montcalm's  army;   that  they""""'" 
should  not  serve  in  America  for  eighteen  months 
and  that  all  French  taken  captive  by  the  English 
be  set  free  within  three  months.     This  escort  to 
^ort  Eduard  was  providec.  in  order  that  no  In- 
dian depredations  might  occur.     Before  signing  the 
capitulation   Montcalm  called   together   the   Indian 
chief;  and  secured  their  promise  to  obey  its  stipu- 
lations and  restrain  the  young  braves  from  any  in- 
human act.     Then  the  signatures  were  made  and 
tne  fort  was  surrendered. 

Either  the  Indian  chiefs  never  meam  to  keep  their  ,„„„. 
promise  or  they  were  wholly  unable  to  restrain  the  "■«»""■ 
young  savages.     At  any  rate,  no  sooner  had  the'"' 
garrison  marclied  out  than  the  Indians  rushe<l  into 
the  fort,  seeking  "firewater"  and  booty  and  blood. 
I  hey  found  some  sick  men  in  the  hospital,  and 
butchered    them    without    liesitation.      They    then 
searched   for  rum,   but  little  was   found,    for,   on 
Montcalm  s  advice,   the  English   had  emptied   all 
he  barrels  of  rum.    The  :  idians  «rew  daring,  and 
tried  to  get  into  the  chests  and  stores  of  the  En- 
glish, who  were  .still  encamped  nearby.    Montcalm 
mterceded  and  succeeded  in  driving  tl  em  away 

I  he  arrangements  were  that  in  the  inominP  an 
escort  o    300  French  regulars  was  to  accompany 
the  English  to  Fort   Edward,  and  two  chiefs  of 
each  tribe  w^re  also  to  gc  along,  to  assist  in  keep- 
ing order     The  English  passed  a  shuddering  night 
for   the    Indians   were   prowling    everywhere   and  a  si.„..„. 
showing  their  devilish  desires.     Still  nothing  oc  '"«^"""" 
curred  that  night,  and  they  ought  to  have  ttT,stcd  !^s"^ 

453 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

.V^rr'""  ^'""«^«l">  to  k^q-  Lis  word  But  tl.ey  had  got  into 
a  comlition  ot  pan.c,  uiuloubtedly  increased  by  the 
women  s  fears,  and  determined  to  start  for  Fort 
Edward  at  daybreak  This  was  a  gr.evoiis  blun- 
der. 1  he  way  to  balk  a  savat,'e  dog  is  to  keep 
your  hand  on  your  revolver,  hut  otherwise  affect 
to  Ignore  the  dog's  presence,  even  if  he  is  rushing 
toward  you.  The  Hnglisi,  showal  their  fear,  and 
the  bloodthirsty  wretches  stc  xl  in  awe  only  of  those 
who  .hd  not  fear  them.  VVnile  getting  ready  to 
start  the  English  heard  that  the  Indians  had  en- 
tered the  tent  of  some  wounded  men,  from  which 
the  guards  had  just  been  removed,  and  had  toma- 
hawked them.    By  this  time  the  escort  had  arrived 

lt,7,l,  'J^''  ^"e  'sh,  demanding  rum  and  their  baggage.     If 
they  had  not  got  some  rum  the  rest  might  not  have 
been  to  tell.     But  the  English  soldiers  had  rum  in 
their  canteens-which  they  are  not  allowed  to  have 
in  these  days— and  gave  some  to  the  red  devils. 
This  mflamed  them  terribly,  an<l  they  became  wholly 
uncontrollable.     Montcalm  and  his  officers  rushed 
to  the  spot  and  used  every  effort  of  threat  and  bribe 
to  restrain  the  Indians.     They  succeeded  only  par- 
tially.    Ihe  Indians  gave  the  warwhoop  and  m.^ny 
rushed  with  drawn  tomahawks  upon  the  English 
near   them.      It   is   useless   to   describe   the   scene 
further.     The  wretched   English  nia.le  their  way 
toward   Fort   Edward   with    the   reds   after   them 
and  assaults  were  taking  place  nearly  all  the  way! 
Ihe  afifair,  so  far  as  actual  murders  are  concerned 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated.     Eortunatciv  few  of 
the  English  resisted  when  the  savages  merely  wished 
to  take  them  prisoners.    Probably  less  than  lOo  were 

454 


Tht 
nus&acre 

ndhc 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 
killed.  About  ;oo  were  taken  prisoners  and  mal- 
treated, but  Montcalm,  who  was  almost  crazed  by 
the  awful  tragedy,  succeeded  in  getting  all  of  these 
away  from  the  Indians  but  about  200.  With  that 
number  they  started  off  for  Montreal,  not  a  part 
of  Montcalm's  army,  but  a  horde  of  wild  cut-throats, 
who  ought,  all  of  them,  to  have  been  shot. 

The  only  good  result  of  this  slaughter,  from  anMomci™ 
tnghsh  standpomt,  is  that  by  this  sacrifice  all  of '""""' 
Montcalm's  plans  to  take  Fort  Edward  and  Albany 
were  given  up.     While  Webb  was  trembling  in  his 
boots  for  the  safety  of  his  own  precious  skin,  the 
redskins,  by  butchering  the  English,  we      making 
his  safety  sure.    Montcalm  was  too  sick  ai  heart  to 
proceed  farther,  although  his  command  was  in  ex- 
cellent condition,  and  prepared  for  instant  .-".nd  long 
service.      Undoubtedly   here   Montcalm   made   two 
serious  blunders.     He  ought  to  have  gone  on  and  "-wuh. 
taken  I'ort  Edward.     The  task  would   have  been  ^"X' 
an  easy  one.     But  ev«n  if  that  were  abandoned,  he 
ought  to  have  held  Fort  William  Henry.     But  he 
evidently  thought  it  best  to  close  the  campaign  at 
once.     He  would  not  occupy  Fort  William  Henry 
and  no  one  else  should.     So  he  burned  it,  and  on 
August  10  his  army  reembarked  for  the  North.    It 
has  been  said  in  his  defense  that  he  found  his  forces 
too  much  reduced  after  the  rapture  to  ju.stify  him 
in  undertaking  the  Fort  Edward  expedition.     But 
he   had  his   3,000  regulars  and   some   militiamen, 
while  Webb  had  about  4,700.  2,000  militia  having 
just  arrived.     With    Montcalm   as  a   leader,  that 
French  force  could  easily  have  whipped  twice  their 
numljer  under  Webb.     \o;  it  is  plain  that  Mont- 
calm the  man  had  supplanted  for  the  moment  Mont- 
455  Canada — 4  Vol.  II 


Was 

Montcalm 
t'j  blair«  t 


His  cour- 


THE  TERCEXTEVARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
calm  the  general.  He  showed  his  humanitv  -till 
Uirtiier  by  ransominR:  the  2fX5  prisoners  uhom  the 
Indians  had  taken  to  Montreal.  These  he  conveyed 
to  Quebec,  and  later  sent  by  ship  'o  Boston,  a  wel- 
come port,  for  most  of  them  were  New  FnHand 
mditiamen. 

Tt  is  impossible  to  read  this  story  of  Foi  t  William 
Henry  without  the  strons-.st  terms  of  condemna- 
tion of  the  atrocities  commitled  by  the  Indians,  and 
for  these  atrocities  the  whites  must  be  held  responsi- 
ble.   Yet  It  seems  to  me  that  the  judgment  of  most 
of  the  historians  on  Montcalm's  part  in  the  affair 
IS  too  harsh.    He  was  able  to  restrain  the  Indians  at 
O.swcgo,  and  he  had  taken  what  seemed  to  be  to 
him  reasonable  precautions  to  prevent  anv  nulraees 
on  their  part     If  it  could  be  shown  that  any  Cana- 
dian, or  other  man  experienced  in  Indian  ways   had 
warned  him  of  the  treachery  of  the  savages  'then 
would  he  be  most  culpable.     Rut  it  seems  to  me 
that  he  should  no  more  be  held  responsible  for  this 
atro^  'y  than  he  could  for  the  ascent  of  Wolfe's 
army  to  the  plains  „f  .\braham.     In  the  one  case  his 
Canadian  troops  failed  him  in  not  reporting-  to  him 
the   fear  they  all  had  of  the  mutinous  actions  of 
the  sjivases  on  the  following  day;  in  the  other  case 
the  Guienne  regiment  was  allowed  by  Vaudreuil  to 
h;ave  that  p.nrt  of  the  river  forest  near  L'.Anse  au 
I'oulon  a  few  days  before  Wolfe  lan.lcd  there    We 
k.icnv  that  over  and  over  affain  Montcalm  had  l>een 
told  how  careful  he  must  be  not  to  anta^oni^e  or 
otteiKl  the  Indians,  lest  they  turn  to  the  Fnglish 
\ci  when  the  crisis  came,  and  the  savages  were  wild 
with  drink  and  beginnins:  their  bloody  work,  Mont- 
calm risked  liis  life  by  rusliing  among  them,  taking 
456 


THE   SEVEN   YEARS'  WAR    BEGUN 
With  his  own  hands  prisoners  away  from  them,  and 
pleadmg  for  the  English,  even  if  they  did  not  spare 
h.m.     The  retort  to  this  is,  of  course,  that  no  one 
disputed  Montcahn's  courage,  but  it  is  his  judgment  *,„«.„„ 
and  foresight  that  are  called  into  question      But  it  "''""e""' 
seems  clear  that  had  not  the  guards  been  taken  awav 
from  the  tent  in  which  the  sick  men  were  at  5  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  none  sent  to  replace  them— a 
detail  for  which  no  one  to-day  can  place  tlie  respon- 
s:l„l,tv— the  Indians  would  not  have  had  a  chance  to 
get  their  taste  of  bloc.I  that  morning.    Then  came 
the  assembling  of  the  frightened  prisoners  ready  to 
nin  away  before  their  escort  arrived— a  strategic 
blunder  which  I  have  already  discussed.    Then  came 
the  threats,  and  demands  for  whisky,  and  the  weak 
compliance— then  the  catastrophe.  All  this  happened 
early  m  the  morning,  and  Montcalm  came  just  as  soon 
as  he  was  told  of  the  trouble.    Unquestionalily  it  was 
then  too  late  to  prevent  some  outrages,  but  undoubt- 
edly his  coming  did  save  the  English  from  almost 
total  annihilation.    The  period  of  tomahawking  was 
very  short,  lasting,  sc  far  as  we  can  learn,  less  than 
thirty  minutes,  and  it  is  really  wonderful  that  no 
more  than   100  were  killed  by  the  nim-and-bloo,l- 
maddened  brutes.     Ver>  wisely,  Montcalm  d  1  not 
attempt  to  interfere  at  once  with   the   Indians  in 
their   taKing   prisoners.      That   was    for   the    En- 
glish   a    most    welcome    alternative    to    slaughter 
The  men  really  to  blame   for  this  massacre  were 
probably  certain  Canadi,-ui  militiamen.     Thev  very 
probably  failed   not  only  to  inform   Montcalm  of 
what  was  likely  to  happen,  but  also  of  what  was 
happ,.nng.      The  stories  that   the  English   tell  ofc.n.dun. 
tliese  Canadians  stan(iiiig  near  the  tent  where  the"    " 
457 


A  great 
aid  to  the 
English 


Interna, 
tloiul  law 
an  elattlc 
affair 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

sick  men  were  being  murdered  are  very  likely  true. 
We  know  that  when  the  Indians  took  their  cap- 
tives to  Montreal  and  yuebec  Vaudreuil  and  Bigot 
were  amused  by  them  and  allowed  the  Indians  full 
sway  in  the  cities.  Bigot  saying  in  his  soothing  way 
that  the  authorities  must  do  nothing  to  displease  the 
Indians.  But  Montcalm  rose  high  above  all  tho.se 
callous,  indifferent  associates,  and  sent  the  captives 
home. 

The  effect  of  this  horrible  event  was,  in  the 
end,  beneficial  to  the  English.  As  has  already  been 
shown,  it  was  one  of  the  chief  causes  for  Mont- 
calm's decision  to  go  no  farther,  thus  sparing  Fort 
Edward  and  possibly  Albany.  But  its  greater  re- 
sult was  to  increase  the  hatred  of  Canada  and  the 
desire  for  vengeance  on  the  part  of  the  .Vmerican 
colonists  and  the  people  and  Government  of  Eng- 
land. To  the  limit  of  sufficiency,  perhaps,  I  have 
insisted  that  these  barbarous  raids  and  bloody  atroc- 
ities of  Canadians  and  Indians  were  the  great  and 
first  source  of  the  ddotda  est  Canada  sentiment  in 
New  England.  This  Fort  William  Henry  affair, 
in  its  e.xaggerated  form,  simply  heaped  up  the  fury 
of  former  years. 

It  also  lost  to  the  French  some  of  the  chief  fruits 
of  the  victory.  The  British  Government  promptly 
declared  the  agreement  of  capitulation  violated,  anil 
on  arrival  at  Fort  Edward  the  prisoners  captured 
by  the  French  at  Fort  William  Henry  resumed  their 
service  without  the  eighteen  months'  parole.  Also 
no  French  i)risoner3  were  given  up  by  the  English. 
It  is  questionable  whether  such  an  attitude  was  legal, 
but  international  law  was  then,  and  is  yet  to  soute 
extent,  an  elastic  affair. 

458 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  BEGUN 

No  Other  engagement  of  moment  took  place  that 
autumn,  and  soon  the  armies  were  in  winter  quar- 
ters.    Vaudreuil  was  intriguing  to  have  Montcalm  v.udreu.i', 
recalled,  blammg  him  for  not  advancing  on  Fort '"'"«"" 
Edward,  and  was  calling  Fort  William  Henry  "my 
victory." 

But  Versailles  paid  little  attention  to  the  gov- 
ernor,  and   scarcely   read  the  letters  in   which  he 
whimpered  about   Montcalm.     The  latter  was,  on 
the  other  hand,  giving  his  superiors  in  France  a 
ghmpse  at  the  awful  corruption  and  |)cculation  of 
Bigot  and   his   confederates.     Of  this   system   we 
shall  speak  later.     Montcalm's  words  were  heeded, 
and  his  prestige  increased.     Per.sonally  his  life  was 
very  lonely,  and  he  was  plainly  Ijored  almost  to 
death.     He  and  the  governor  were  on  the  liest  of 
terms  nominally,  and  often  dined  together,  but  the 
general  saw   through  the  rottenness  and   folk    of 
social  and  political  affairs,  and  despised  his  associ- 
ates.    That  winter  he  often   wrote   home  that  at 
the  end  of  the  next  year's  campaign  he  would  a-sk 
to  be  recalled.     The  winter  was,  however,  a  very 
brilliant  one  socially,  and  balls  and  receptions  made 
ofificialdom  very  gay.     Montcalm  himself  was  com- 
pelled to  give  several  balls,  at  the  same  time  bemoan- 
mg  in  his  letters  his  increasing  financial  obligations.  oa„„  ,„d 
Vet  with  all  the  glitter  and  show  of  gaiety  .ind  *'"^""'''" 
wealth,   Canada   was  poor  and   suffering,   because '"  °'"'"' 
she  was  robbed  and  looted.     That  verv  winter  the 
supply  of  flour  gave  out.  probably  by  Bigot's  con- 
nivance, and  the  starving  populace  at  Montreal  was 
almost  in  rebellion.     Horse  meat  was  eaten  despite 
great  popular  resentment.     New  France  was  rotten 
at  t'le  heart. 


Washing- 

l.in'9 
stamina 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

We  are  not  interested  in  knowing  how  Loudon 
and  Ins  companions  spent  their  winter;  Loudon  was 
■a  miserable  faikire.  and  was  clearly  set  down  for 
recall.  But  down  in  Virginia  Colonel  George  Wash- 
ington was  all  alone,  working  night  and  day,  and 
gaining  experience  and  acquiring  [wpular  confidence, 
tliat  some  day  was  to  stand  him  in  good  stead.  He 
was  trying  to  keep  back  the  hordes  of  Indians  who 
were  ravaging  the  Virginia  frontier,  and  the  embar- 
rassments and  discouragements  which  he  suffered 
were  enough  to  test  the  stamina  of  any  man.  He 
got  almost  no  help  from  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia, 
and  some  of  his  own  officers  were  slow  to  come  to 
his  relief.  He  was  profoundly  disgusted  with  con- 
ditions, but  for  the  sake  of  the  hundreds  of  lives 
entrusted  to  his  care  on  the  frontier,  he  stuck  to  his 
work  and  came  out  victorious. 


:_ iiL_ 

W'^ 

^ 

w 

w 

0 

460 


CHAPTER    XXVU 

JAMES    WOLFl-     AND    THE    CAPTURE    OF    LOUISBOURG 

n^O    France    the    victories    of    Frerierick    and  „„„„„„, 
^      Ferd.nan.l    ought    to    have   given    warning ->■""'' 
but   Madame  Pompadour,  the  real  ruler,  ..aid   no 
lieed.  continued  to  dismiss  and  promote  ministers 
and  generals,  and  even  in  the  face  of  ruin  lived 
the  same  life  of  luxury,  excitement,  an<l  sin 
,,rV-'"^\'f^"'  'liferent  across  the  rinumel.    There 
William  P.tt  was  drawing  up  plans  for  the  con- 
quest of  .New  France  and  selecting  the  men  to  ac- 
complish It.    He  determined  on  three  campaigns  for  r,    h 
I7.S8,  against  Louisbourg.  Ticonderoga,  and  Fo««r4™ 
Uuquesne.     There  was  no  nonsense  about  his  plans  "'"' 
and  If  he  could  have  selected  the  right  men  to  carry 
t^iem  out  they  would   have  triumphed  completely 
But  hke  all  executives  he  was  hampered  In-  political 
and  other  extraneous  considerations.     Abercrombie 
wlio  had  in  no  way  distinguished  himself  with  I  ou- 
don,  was  selected  to  succeed  him  and  undertake  the 
capture  of  Ticonderoga.    Forbes  was  to  recover  I.'ort 
Duquesne.  and  Amherst  was  to  lead  the  great  expe- 
dition of  the  year,  against  Louislxjurg     Wftli  Al,er 
crombie  was  to  l;e  associated  Lord  Howe    a  very 
able  and  brilliant  young  officer,  and  to  Amherst  were 
assigned  Wolfe,   Whitmore.  an<l  Lawrence      Law- 
rence was  still  Governor  of  Nova  Scoiia,  resting  on 

461 


WoUe 
all  toldier 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

the  laurels  he  had  won  by  his  expulsion  of  the  Aca- 
dians;  Whitmore  was  little  knuvn  then  or  after- 
ward, anfl  Wolfe  was  to  become  the  supreme  hero 
and  sacrifice  of  the  war.  Amherst  had  been  serv- 
ing as  a  colonel  in  Germany,  and  was  promoted  to 
be  major-general  in  order  to  lead  this  expe<lition. 

James  Wolfe's  career  is,  from  now  on,  so  closely 
connected  with  this  war  that  an  introduction  to  him 
is  imperative.  Wolfe  was  all  soldier,  and  had  never 
been  anything  else.  He  lived  in  an  acre  when  to 
be  a  soldier  was  the  fjreatest  career  for  an  ambitious 
and  patriotic  man,  yet  he  was  far  above  the  average 
soldier  of  the  time  in  hi?  devotion  to  the  life  of  a 
soldier.  In  the  American  Civil  War  some  boys  of 
sixteen  served,  yet  there  are  few  if  nriy  examples  in 
modern  times  of  a  boy  of  fifteen  receiving  a  com- 
mission, and  at  sixteen  servinsr  as  adjutant  in  a  bat- 
tle, and  at  the  age  of  nimtrcn  becoming  brigade- 
major.  Those  things  Wolfe  did.  He  could  not  have 
lived  outside  a  camp,  and  into  his  short  life  was 
ci-owdea  such  fighting  experience  ".n<\  glory  as  come 
to  few  men  in  .1  career  of  twi'uty  years'  service 
inider  ■irms. 


He  was 
of  Irish 
ettracticn 


HIS    BIOURAPHY    IN    BRIEF 

Of  course  he  was  of  frish  extraction,  although  his 
mother  was  a  Yorkshire  woman,  and  the  family 
had  resi<!ed  m  England  for  two  or  three  generations 
before  James  Wolfe  was  bom.  His  father  was  one 
of  Marlborough's  fighting  youths,  and  Iwcam.e  a 
major-geneml.  Ti-e  boy  was  Ixjrn  in  Wtsterham, 
and  received  such  education  as  he  had  in  the  ichcKjls 
of  that  little  tovs'n.  But  for  V'oVs  or  schcol  James 
cared  little.  He  was  a  soldier  from  birth.  At  the 
4fc 


^\  III  I  \\i  I'll  I 

1  in-r  1  \ui  oi  (  H  \rii  wi 
1708  1778 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
woih'.  ag«  of  thirteen  he  became  actually  enrolled  in  the 
iiperkon  regiment  of  his  father,  then  preparing  to  sail  for 
iiwui  Cartagena,  but  was  prevented  from  going  by  some 
juvenile  illness,  and  was  sent  home,  a  thori>ii,;hly 
disheartened  and  crushed  boy.  Bui  that  discourrige- 
ment  did  not  last  long,  for  in  two  yean  he  was 
given  a  commission  in  the  12th  regiment,  and  the 
next  year  he  was  in  battle.  This  was  at  Dettingen, 
in  nanders,  and  he  actually  was  adjutant,  and  filled 
the  office  well.  No  better  commentary  can  be  made 
on  the  loose  army  n  .ilations  and  lax  meth(5<Is  of 
that  day  than  this  fact  that  a  boy  of  fifteen  could 
get  a  commission,  and  at  sixteen  in  a  bloody  battle 
serve  as  adjutant,  responsible  for  delivering  orders 
which  might  mean  death  to  many  poor  fellows.  But, 
possibly,  the  army  officials  saw  the  genms  in  Wolfe 
from  the  start.  At  any  rate  he  filkd  ever)-  position 
with  complete  c  jdit  and  satisfaction.  The  British 
army  was  full  of  sluggards  and  incompetents,  and 
It  was  easy  for  a  brilliant  and  hard-working  officer 
to  make  his  way. 

Aft:r  his  wars  in  Flanders  we  find  him  helping 
suppress  the  Jacobite  rel)cllion  of  45  at  Culloden, 
where,  at  nineiecn,  he  was  brigade-major.  He  then 
saw  fighting  on  the  Continent,  and  was  wounded  at 
Laufifcldt.  Then  i^jf  a.most  ten  years  lie  had  to 
undergo  what  was  o  iiiin  the  most  utterly  repulsive 
form  of  drudgery,  home  service.  But  nvist  of  this 
home  service  was  ;n!poitant  and  valuable.  It  was 
spent  largely  in  Scotland,  among  an  almost  rebel- 
hous,  at  best  restless,  population,  and  this  disagree- 
able duty  he  performed  so  well  that  the  Highlanders 
grew  fond  of  him.  Like  all  young  fellows  in  the 
twenties,  he  had  fallen  in  love,  and  on  rejection  be- 
464 


Tenytan 

home 

•errlce 


WOLIE   AN'D   LOUISBOURG 
came  for  a  time  dissipated,  but  soon  recovered  his 
balance.    During  those  agonizing  home-service  days 
he  occupied  his  time,  and  greatly  improved  his  basis 
for  distinction,  by  a  close  study  of  mathematics  and 
the  classics.      He  grew  so  sick  of  his  life  in   thes,.monu,. 
Highlands  that  he  got  a  six  months'  leave  of  ah- '"  ''•"• 
seice  and  spent  it  in  Paris,  was  presented  at  court, 
and  became  versed  in  f'le  language  and  the  accom- 
phshnieiits  of  the  d;iy     Hut  he  did  not  again  plunge 
mto  dissipatii   :,    On  the  other  hand,  he  spent  much 
time  m  study,  and  asked  to  go  to  other  countries, 
to  study  their  military  methods,  but  was  refused. 
Times  have  changed  since  then. 

We  ne.vt  see  hini  lourth  in  command  of  the  luck- 
less <  .s-pedition  against  Hochefort,  and  he  was  the 
only  one  who  escaped  blame  for  that  fiasco,  the  in- 
ve-iigating  board   indeed   praising  his  conduct   in 
instinted  terms.    His  work  in  Scotland  h;ul  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  King,  and  tl  ,_,  most  recent  cam- 
paign was  fresh   in  all  ofiScers'  minds:  so   Wolfe 
was  easily  in  line  for  honors  in  the  ^var  with  France 
in  America.     He  sought  the  assignment,  although  A..ig„«,,„ 
his  health  on  land  was  always  poor,  and  at  sea  he'*'""'" 
was  a  wretched  invalid.     He  wrote  a  friend  before 
leaving  England  that,  while  he  i;ad  sought  the  place, 
he  knew  the  voyage  thrcitened  his  life  and  would 
certainly  wreck  his  constitution. 

At  thi,  point  the  great  genius  of  Pitt  manifested 
Itself  m  his  employment  of  the  navy  a,  the  chief 
bulwark  of  English  greatness.  Although  at  that 
very  moment  an  expedition  was  Iwing  fitted  out  in 
France  for  the  invasion  of  England,  Pitt  cour- 
ageously called  upon  all  the  naval  forces  that  he 
could  muster  to  coast  along  the  shores  of  France 
465 


MICROCOPY    ((^SOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

lANS'  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2i 


1.0    !fK 


I.I 


112.5 


■—     III  2-2 
t^    111112,0 


1:25    III  U     III  1.6 


^     ^IPPLIED  IN/HGE     Inc 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Im","'  ^"^  prevent  any  naval  force  from  readiing  Amer- 
reiianct  ica.  Froni  that  moment  all  help  which  France, 
aroused  at  last  to  desperation  at  Canada's  condi- 
tion, had  resolved  to  send  to  Louisbourp  and  Quebec 
was  cffeciually  stopped.  Hawke  and  Osborn  were 
able  not  only  to  keep  in  the  harbors,  but  actually  to 
defeat,  French  fleets,  some  of  them  with  troops  on 
board,  which  Louis  had  gathered  for  New  France. 

THE    LOUISBOURG    CAMPAIGN 

Ju','T'  ^Ieanwiiile  preparations  were  being  hurried  for- 
ward for  the  despatch  of  the  great  army  for  the 
capture  of  Louisbourg,  This  expedition  sailed 
from  England  on  the  19th  of  February,  1758,  but 
so  hea\7  was  the  sea  and  many  the  storms  that  it 
was  not  until  May  10  that  the  Heet  reached  Hali- 
fax. Only  a  few  daj'S  were  spent,  however,  in  re- 
pairing the  damages,  and  by  June  10  the  entire  foree 
—the  largest  that  had  ever  assembled  in  North 
America— set  sail  from  Halifax  for  Loui.sbourg. 

We  have  already  described  the  fortifications  of 
Louisbourg,  and  the  general  character  of  the  town 
and  the  fortress  at  the  time  of  its  capture  by  Pep- 
perell.  In  the  intervening  thirteen  years  very  few 
changes  bad  been  made  in  the  fort.  It  had,  to 
be  sure,  been  repaired,  and  the  garrison  largely 
increased.  The  Chevalier  de  Drucour  was  now  Gov- 
ernor, and  under  him  were  about  4,000  men,  chiefly 
French  regulars,  besides  the  inhabitants,  consisting 
of  about  4,000,  most  of  whom  were  armed  and  ready 

hu"e"oJc=  ^""^  ''''"'*^'  ""^"^^  "'^'"'^  ^'^° '"  "^^  harbor  seven  line-of- 

battle  ships  and  five  frigates,  carrying  550  guns  and 

manned  by  3,000  sailors.    The  force  which  Amherst, 

who  was  in  general  charge  of  the  expedition,  coni- 

466 


WOLFE  AND   LOUISBOURG 
manded  consisted  of  about   12,000  men,   and   the 
naval  force  was  2^  sliips  of  uiie  line  and  17  frigates. 
The  arrival  off  the  town  was  made  on  ilie  2(1  of 
June.     The  weather  was  very  stormy  for  several 
days,  and  so  gloomy  was  the  outlook  for  a  land- 
ing m  face  of  the  strong  French  guards  that  the 
pro|X}sition  was  almost  abandoned.    .At  length,  how- 
ever, the  original  plan  was  carried  out.     Two  forces 
made  a  fi-int  at  landing  at  the  two  coves  nearest  the 
town,  while  Wolfe  with  his  detachment  apiiroacheil 
Kennmgton.  or  Freshwater  Cove,  four  miles  distant  '••"■""e 
from  the  city.    A  force  of  1,200  French  troops  sta- j,","" '■°' 
tioned  there  ..jKned  a  terrible  fire  upon  his  party,  " 
and  Wolff's  liagstaff  was  shot  away.     He  signaled 
his  men  to  retreat,  but  they  persisted,  and  through 
the  surf  finally  managed  to  make  a  landing.    It  was 
a  desperate  chance,  but  Wolfe,  who  was  well  fitted 
for  fighting  under  just  such  conditions,  supported 
the  landing.     .Many  men  were  drowned,  but  finally 
the  French  force,  which  had  fought  valiantly  to  keep 
ofif  the  party,  was  put  to  flight.     More  than   100 
of  them  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners,  and  the  Brit- 
ish loss  was  about  the  same. 

The  French  at  the  very  outset  made  two  blun-  Fr.„ch 
ders  which  it  is  difficult  to  excuse.    They  abandoned  '''"°''"»' 
the  Grand  Battery,  as  they  did  during  t'he  Pepperell  °"" 
campaign,  although  this  time  they  blew  it  up  after 
removing  the  stores;  and  they  abandoned  Light- 
house   Point,    across    the    harbor's    entrance    and 
opposite  the  Island   Batf  ry.     Grand   Battery  was 
worthless  when  abandc      I,  but  Lighthouse  Point 
gave  the  English  a  change  to  seize  a  position  from 
which  they  could  pour  a  deadly  fire  into  the  Island 
Battery,    One  of  their  very  first  movements  was  the 
467 


A  brillian 

anillery 
Jue! 


Amherst 
steadily 
aJ ranees 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OFl   CANADA 

despatch  of  Wolfe  witli  ,,200  men  to  set  up  a  bat- 
tery on  Liglithouse  Point, 

__  That  meant  a  hot  fight  at  once.  Wolfe  opened 
■ire  on  the  Island  Battery  and  the  ships  in  the  har- 
bor, and  they  responded.  It  must  liave  been  a  ter- 
rible but  brilliant  scene,  especially  during  the  night 
But  the  fight  did  not  last  long.  Both  ships  and 
battery  were  silenced  in  less  than  a  week  That 
settled  the  seaward  defense  of  the  fortress :  it  wa= 
gone^  There  was  nothing  to  prevent  Eoscawen, 
the  British  admiral,  from  sailing  into  the  harbor 
and  attacking  the  fortress  from  that  side.  Drucour 
saw  this  and  sank  six  sliips  in  the  harbor  mouth, 
effectually  blocking  it.  That  was  the  first  evidence 
of  generalsinp  that  he  had  shown.  The  defense- 
less side  of  the  town  was  thus  practically  free  from 
attack,  for  the  guns  from  Lighthouse  Point  could 
not  reach  the  fortress  walls. 

But  how  about  the  other  side?     Amherst   had 
begun  his  siege  m  a  systematic  way,  and  had  forti- 
fied himself  on  a  hillock  o\erlooking  the  town  and 
only  about  a  half-mile  away.     The  guns  of  the  for- 
tress ramed  shot  and  shell  upon  that  .spot   but  the 
structure  was  completed.     The  onward  movement 
became  general.     Like  a  mole,   the  English  were 
founa  each  morning  to  have  advanced  nearer  the 
town.     Wolfe  led  in  this  movement,  throwing  up 
mtrenchments  on  the  left,  or  seaward,  side  of  the 
fort  only  one-third  of  a  mile  away.    A  sortie  July  6 
against  Lawrence  on  the  right  and  on  July  9  against 
Wolfe  were  the  occasions  of  the  only  hand-to-hand 
bayonet  contests  of  the  siege.    It  was  a  dogge  1  fight 
m  the  dark,  and  was  without  result,  the  French  at 
the  end  having  failed  to  drive  the  English  back. 
468 


WOLFE   A\D   LOUISBOURG 


MAP  OF  LOUISBOUHG 
469 


Tin.:    TERCEXTEN'ARY    IlISTORV    OF 


C.WADA 


The  best 
lij;  liter 
among  the 
French 


Wolfe' 
daring  coup 


There  was  one  jaunty  I'reiicli  ship  xsliidi  W'ollc, 
from  Liglithouse  Point,  had  not  been  able  tu  silence. 
It  was  the  "Arcthnse."  whicli  now  stationed  herself 
in  a  western  angle  of  the  harbor  and  ponred  sohd 
shot  upon  tlie  besiegers.  This  httle  frigate's  per- 
formance was  really  the  most  brilliant  and  creditable 
feature  of  the  French  defense.  Slie  made  all  sorts 
of  trouble  for  Lawrence's  men.  and  their  guns  re- 
sponded with  a  storm  of  shells.  At  length  the 
plucky  little  -raft  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and, 
.sailing  out  of  range,  she  plugged  up  her  holes  and 
one  dark  night  struck  out  for  France.  Narrowly 
missing  the  wrecks  of  her  six  comrades  guarding 
the  harbor  from  ingress,  she  soon  found  herself  in 
the  open  sea.  The  British  ships  lay  about  in  star- 
tling abundance,  but  she  evaded  them  all  and  soon 
was  speeding  with  all  sails  set  to  France.  In  .spite 
of  the  English  guards,  she  reached  port,  and  soon 
the  king  knew  that  Louisl>ourg  was  doomed.  A 
sister  ship,  which  early  in  the  siege  had  tried  to 
get  help  from  Quebec,  was  captured  after  a  merry 
chase. 

Meanwhile  the  fighting  was  going  on  furiously, 
and  every  day  the  British  came  nearer.  At  length, 
on  July  i6,  Wolfe  rushed  upon  and  fortified  a  hill 
only  300  yards  from  the  fortress  walls.  It  was  a 
daring,  desperate  chance,  and  many  men  were  killed 
in  the  coup,  but  he  held  the  hill  and  began  to  throw 
a  riddling  fire  into  the  city.  A  shell  exploded  iipon 
one  01  the  French  .ships  in  the  harbor,  she  caught 
fire,  set  fire  to  two  others,  and  the  three  burned  to 
the  water.  To  complete  the  demoralization  inevita- 
ble upon  this  catastrophe,  500  English  sailors  one 
night  in  small  boats  entered  the  "bottled-up"  bar- 
470 


WOLFE   AN'D   LOUISBOUKG 
bor,  boarded  the  two  l-reiich  ships  left,  overpowered 
the  crews,  burned  one,  and  towed  the  other  into  a 
corner  wiicre  Britisli  guns  could  protect  her. 

By  tliis  time  the  condition  of  the  fortress  and  city  Th.  ci,y  i„ 
had  become  untenable.  Tlie  walls  were  seriously »  ""p""' 
damaged,  and  in  several  places  a  breach  was  immi-  ''"''''°° 
nent.  I- ires  were  occurring  at  irregular  intervals, 
and  even  the  hospital  was  not  safe  from  the  merci- 
less shots  of  the  English.  The  loss  of  the  garrison 
from  death,  wounds,  and  disease  was  frightfully 
high.  A  rear  attack  on  the  besiegers  by  the  Aca- 
dians  and  Indians  had  utterly  failed.  All  hope  of 
help  from  Quebec  or  France  had  been  aljandoned. 
1  he  guns  of  the  fort  had  been  so  silenced  that  their 
response  to  the  British  cannon  roar  sounded  like  a 
pop-gun.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  begged  Dru- 
cour,  for  the  sake  of  their  suffering,  to  give  up,  and 
at  last,  after  numerous  conferences,  he  decided  to 
yield. 

On  July  27  the  capitulation  was  made  complete.  i.oui.bo„rg 
Ihe  French  troops  were  drawn  up  on  parade  and:"'""' 
marched  out  of  the  fort.     In  all  there  were  5,637X7 
men  — soldiers  and   sailors  — included   in   the  sur- 
render.    A   large  amount  of   ammunition,   stores, 
cannon,  and  other  ordnance  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  English,  and  as  Louisbourg  was  the  only 
fortified  position  of  France  on  the  North  Atlantic 
Coast,   the  old   satrapy  of  Acadia,   which   French 
power   founded,   for  which   so   many  missionaries 
had  given  their  toil,  and  soldiers  and  civilians  had 
given  their  lives,  passed  away.    And  with  the  trans- 
fer Louisbourg  ceased  as  a  fortress.     The  English 
were  not  persuaded  as  to  either  its  importance  or 
strength.    They  already  had  a  strong  base  at  Hali- 


I-iiuisbouri,' 
to-day 


Wolfe's 
prestige 

creal 


Till-  TERCEN-TENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
fax,  and  another  so  near  was  not  necessary.  So 
the  order  went  forth  for  the  dismantling  of  tliat 
gigantic  fortress,  en  which  undoubtedly  more  than 
SIX  milli.m  dollars  were  spent  at  a  tiiiie  when  the 
pnrcliasinK  |)nuer  i,i  a  dollar  was  twice  what  it 
is  to-day. 

'Ihe  destruction  of  the  walls  and  ramparts  oc- 
cupied years  of  time,  and  yet  so  massive  was  the 
masonry  that  to-day  its  lines  and  even  the  walls 
themselves  arc  clearly  seen  and  pointed  out  to  vis- 
itors. A  mo\-enient  is  now  on  foot  for  its  restora- 
tion. The  pl.ice  itself  is  no  longer  of  any  con- 
sctiucnce.  merely  the  home  of  a '  few  fisher  folk. 
It  is  eliaracteristic  of  the  march  and  changes  of 
civilization  that  now  the  chief  city  of  Cape  Bre- 
ton is  not  Loni.sbonrg,  which  was  a  military  and 
strategic  point,  hut  Sydney,  the  home  of  iron  ami 
steel. 

Wolfe  had  won  the  chief  distinction  from  the  cap- 
ture of  Louishourg.  Amherst's  name  was  not  mucli 
heard,  but  the  impetuous  attacks  which  Wolfe  had 
made  on  the  fortress  and  the  spirit  with  which  he 
inspired  his  men  made  his  name  one  to  conjure  with 
throughout  all  Europe.  What  Monicalm's  emotions 
inust  have  been  when  he  learned  of  this  new  leader, 
who  was  brilliant  where  others  had  been  slow,  effi- 
cient where  others  had  been  worthless,  and  strategic 
where  others  had  Ijeen  blundering,  can  not  be  totd. 
This  was  undoubtedly  the  best  man  that  England 
had  ever  sent  to  America :  fit  and  able  to  command. 
He  had  his  faults,  of  course;  he  had  made  mistakes; 
lie  was  to  make  more  mistakes  and  encounter  fail- 
ure, but  at  that  time  Pitt  recognized  that  Wolfe  was 
to  be  the  great  leader  in  the  final  contest. 
472 


WOLFE   AND   LOL'ISBOURG 

Quebe..  He  felt  that  ,t  v.as  only  smnmer  now  •°''^' 
and  by  ,nak,ng  a  <,uick  rush  to  (Juebec  he  could""""' 
ake  the  fortress  before  wniter  set  in;  but,  just  as 
they  were  considerm^  the  n,at,er,  news  ca„,e  to 
Lou,sb,.urg  of  the  fadure  of  Abercron.bii-  at  I'ort 
T.conderoga  and  a  force  had  to  be  sent  to  help 
repair  that  blunder.  ^ 

England  had  heard  thus  news  almost  as  soon  as 
Halifax  d.d.  and  she  was  wholly  unprepared  for 
he  ti.Migs  udiich  came  so  quickly  afterwar.l,  of 
the  capture  of  Louisbourg.  Captain  Amherst,  the 
brother  of  the  general,  had  gone  to  England  by 
a  fast  sh,p.  and  b.ad  taken  w,th  him  the  French 
standards.  The  receipt  of  this  ne^vs  was  among 
the  mo.st  welconie  that  England  ever  heard.  The 
po,i|)!e  lud  bee,  so  long  used  to  hearing  of  defeats 
hat  they  had  ^  nw-st  lost  their  confidence  in  the 
rength  of  Br.t.sh  arms.     The  whole  country  rang  k.».„„ 

Zfiris  T^  '""  "''''"•  ^'""^  "-^^  alight  with'---, 
bonfire  .  The  captured  French  (lags  were  carried 
hrough  crowded  streets  from  Kensington  Palace 
to  St.  Pauls,  and  the  kingdom  was  in  a  delirium 
of  joy.  Amencan  cities  also  rejoiced,  although  few 
o  he  colonial  troops  had  taken  part  in  the  trTumph. 
and  they  regarded  Louisbourg  as  hardly  a  menace 
to  them  e.Kcept  as  \ew  England  fishermen  had  been 
angered  by  the  capture  of  their  fishing  vessels  by 
t  rench  warships  which  had  Louisbourg  as  their  base 


473 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 


The  lam- 
r  ■inn  in 
Ntw  Yorlt 


I5.O00  men 
ai  Fort 
Edward 


Montcalm's  triumi-ii  .vr  ticonderoga 

^OW  let  lis  turn  to  the  campaiRn  in  New  York, 
J-  ^    wlicrc  tlie  ol,l  plan  lo  reach  Canada  by  way  of 
I-akc  thamplain  and  Lake  GenrRc  was  to  be  foujfht 
out  by  Abercrombie.     Few  expeditions  were  ever 
imdcrlakpn  witli  such   favorable  Ijeginnings      Titt 
had  galvanized   ICngland  into  life  and  enthusiasm, 
and  the  coloincs  had  can.ijht  the  contagion.     All  the 
Americans  needed  «as  to  be  shown  that  old  Eng- 
land meant  business,  and  thev  rallied  to  her  standard 
with  a  spirit  that  must  have  cheered   Pitfs  heart. 
Certamly   I'.npland  was  now   in  earnest.     Twenty 
thousand  troops  sent  to  take  Louisbourg  was  one 
evidence,  and  the  offer  Pitt  made  to  the  colonists 
rcgarduipr  the  Ticonderoga  campaign  was  still  an- 
other.    P,tt  called   for  20,000  men,  and  offerc<l  to 
efpiip  and  arm  them,  and  to  ask  Parliament  to  help 
pay  them.     The  colonies  responded  with  r7.ocx5  men 
these  coming  from  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  New 
England,  the  proud  province  of  Massachusetts  alone 
contributing7,ooo.    There  actually  embarked  on  this 
expedition  about   15,000  men,  6,:ioo  regulars  and 
g,ooo  provincials.     They  were  gathered  together  at 
l-ort  Edward  about  the  middle  of  June,  and  in  the 
first  week  of  July  they  embarked  on  Lake  George 
lOr  their  epoch-making  campaign. 

474 


MONTCALM'S    TKIU.MPll    AT    TIUiXUKUOGA 
Abercro,nl;ic  1,,„1  l.y  il,„  .i,,,,.  „„,,,  ,., 
■OM  on  h,s  ,„.„,  but  the  real  -:  ler  uas  Mr,,..        .•^'''" 
(.ccral  L„r,l  Howe,  wl,u  seem.  „,  ,leserve^.||  ,\V"'" 
pra.se  that  l,as  been  shuN.ered  upon  bim.     He  has 
been  callcl  a  Lycur.us,  because  of  h,s  close  watch 
vt    the  camp  ami  careful  attention  to  the  comfort 
of  the  sou  hers;  he  oupht  rather   to  be  calk-i  the 
Ii..>..r.  of  bis  t,mc.     He  wa;  a  brilliant  soMier  and 

m  the  llru.sh  army,  and  Pitt  sp„ke  of  hitn  in  most 
culoj;,st,c  terms.  The  chroniclers  of  the  titne  ,le- 
bght  m  tclhn^^  how  he  reduced  the  soldie.s'  imnedi- 
■nenta  to  their  lowest  tenns.  He  ordered  the  n'en's 
liair  and  the.r  coat  tails  cut  short,  and  set  the  exam- 
ple bunsclf  of  smiple  hv,,g  ami  light  ba^;g,•,ge,  so 
liat  campa.gmng  in  the  woods  in  July  nnght  not 
be  the  mtolerablc  burden  it  would  otherw.'e  have 
been.  Everybody  loved  this  ymtng  oflicer,  and  when 
went  to  the  front  .Mrs,  Schuyler  of  .Mbanv  kissed 
Inm  farewell,  as  it  he  were  her  sr..i 

In  the  mean  time  all  bad  not  ^oae  well  with 
the  I.rench.  It  will  be  remembered  tha.  th.  king's 
ministers  had  permitted  Vaudreui!  to  have  g-neral 
cnarge  of  the  war  movements,  although  thev  had 
eiven  Montcalm  control  of  the  troops  in  the' field 
Thi.s  summer  Vaudreuil  )  d  a  g^ind  scheme  of 
sending  Levis  with  a  force  against  the  .\fobawks 
and  thus  diverting  the  attention  of  Aberoromhie 
from   Ticonderoga.      He   di,l    weaken    Mont -aim  s 

West  when  news  came  that  .Abcrcrombie  had  started  """'■"> 

vl2r"!^TT  '''"'  '•^•°°°  '"^"-     So  blundering,'"""' 
Vaudreu,    bad  to  recall  Levis  with  all  baste  and 
<lespatch  him  to  Montcalm's  assistance.     It  took  a 
475 


Mom  calm 
ilnidrt  tO 
remain 


A  desperat 
last  retort 


llIE    TERCENTENARy    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 

slerliti),'  quality  ol  pluck  in  Montcalm  to  rcriiain  at 
TiconderoRa  and  face  a  force  m)  nuicli  sui)eriur  in 
numbers  to  his  own — but  only  m  numbers,  for  tlic 
troops  under  Montcalm  were  aiiicjn^,'  the  l)cst  in  the 
world.      Soiiieihinn  that   he  could  not   understand 
told  Montcalm  not  to  retreat,  the  only  military  plan 
o(K'n  to  him.      I'ossibly  he  counteil   upon   liritish 
bhmdcrin),'.      liut  he  laid  his  plans  with  the  skill 
and  (,'cniiis  with  which  his  name  is  ever  associated. 
TiconileroKa  was  situated  in  a  very  perilous  pl.ice. 
at  the  very  extremity  of  bike  Champlain  on  on 
side  and  the  river  on  the  other.     It  was  not  de- 
fensible in  -he  short  time  at  Montcalm's  disposal. 
So  he  fixed   ujioii  the   uiii(|ue  plan   of  abandoning 
the  fort  and  coiiceiilrating  his  force,  now  ^rown  to 
be  only  ,?.6oo  by  the  arrival  of  Levis,  upon  a  slijjht 
ridpe  a  half-mile  west  of  the  fort.   L'pon  the  crest  of 
this  ridffc  he  built,  facing  westward,  a  rude  embank- 
"meiit,  formed  simply  of  trunks  of  trees  piled  uikju 
one  another  to  the  height  of  eight  or  nine  feet.     In 
front  of  this  breastwork  he  cut  down  the  trees  for 
perhaps  500  yards,  leaving  them  as  they  fell,  in  a 
tangled,  practically   impenetrable  mass.     The   idea 
that  l)ehind  this  ru<le  embankment  3.600  men  could 
withstand  i.s.txxi  armed  with  cannon  seemed  hope- 
less and  absurd.     It  was.  however,  in  many  ways 
a  brilliant  strategic  position.     To  the  left  and  right 
were  marshes,  and  approach  even  from  them  was 
difficult. 

THE    DEATH    OF    HOWE 

To  get  some  idea  of  the  approach  of  the  English, 

Montcalm  sent  300  scouts  under  Langy  along  the 

river  toward  Lake  George.     Meanwhile  .\bcrcroin- 

476 


KOUtS 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
bie   had   landed   near   the   northern   end   of   Lake 
George    on  the  west  bank,  and  sent  an   advance 
force   forward   along  Trout   Brook   under    H,»ve 
lh,s   force   had   proceeded   only  a   short    distance 
through  the  <lense  and  silent  woods  when  a  chal- 
lenge. "Qui  river  rang  out  from  the  brush.    '■Prau- 
(ais     was  the  reply,  but  Langj-  knew  better      He 
had  himself  been  utterly  lost,  and  was  now  prac- 
tically surround'd  by  the  British.     But  he  deter- 
mmcl  to  fight,  and  a  volley  burst  from  the  bushes 
followed  quickly  by  another.     At  the  first  fire  sev- 
eral Englishmen  fell,  and  among  them  was  the  dar- 
ling of  the  army.   Lord   Howe.     This  despairing 
shot   of   desperate   Frenchmen,   caught   in   a  trap, 
rolled  back  the  tide  of  progress  at  least  one  year 
Howe  was  killed,  and  the  men  near  him  burst  into 
tears^    But  his  force  rallied,  and  after  a  brief  fight 
all  of  Langy  s  little  force  were  killed,  wounded    or 
captured.' 

bi?:rry        '^^]'  ^lemoralization  caused  by  the  death  of  Howe 

itmo,M..i  'y^s  immediate  and  general.     Abercrombie  ordered 

'  O"  Of  °ber  3,  1889,  a  workman  near  the  village  of  Ticon- 

Tkun'a^i      ■•  "7  ""  '  "*"■  ^°"^"  "■'"  ="«=■  in  which  X 

scribed,     Mem  of  Lo  Howe  Trout  Brook."    This  find  taken  in 

connection  with  a  story  handed  down  to  a  Ticonde  og    ftmi  ^ 

tha    a  forebear  had  dug  a  grave  for  Lord  Howe  and  made  a 

hasty  .nscnpt.on  ™  a  stone,  convinced  Ticonderoga  people  that 

h.s  was  the  coffin  and  these  the  remains  of  Lorl.  How     and 

that  he  was  not  buried  at  Albany,  as  Lossing  states.     Fo    ten 

ye^s  -thing  was  done  about  .his  discovery,  but  on  Jul^  3. 

t^'.,nn'  ™  ?  '""  ""'^'"'  *"■=  ■-'"'""'i  at  Ticonderoga 
Jo  eohT^!:"''  """.^.".Jn^'-xiing  an  address  by  the  famous 
lUs  n„i?  r^'  1  r'  "'"'""""  ""''  '>°""  *»^  Ticonderoga, 
warrior  '''"  '"*  """''"'  °'  "«  ''"'"»"'  ^"''e 

478 


MAJOR-GEXERAI.  JAMES   WOLFE 


MONTCALM'S  TRIUMPH   AT  TICONDEROGA 

back  his  army  to  the  landing-piacc,  and  all  night  ho..', 
they  remained  under  arms.  Had  not  Howe  been''"''"""'' 
killed  and  this  retreat  ordered,  the  British  army 
would  have  reached  Montcalm's  force  before  his 
work  of  preparation  was  half  complete.  We  are 
now  to  follow  the  story  of  one  of  the  mos^  start- 
ling examples  of  heroic  courage  in  men  and  crim- 
inal folly  in  leaders  known  to  all  histor)-— a  story 
comparable  only  to  the  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade, 
and  bepide  which  Fredericksburg  in  the  American 
Civil  War  was  a  slight  indiscretion.  Critics  of  the 
American  attack  by  infantry  on  San  Juan  Hill  might 
find  it  a  weak  likeness  to  this  fight  in  the  forests  of 
New  York. 

Abercrombie,  on  the  morning  following  Howe's  Aber- 
death,  again  ordered  the  advance.  By  this  time^^°"^^,' 
his  engineers  had  discovered  the  French  position, 
and  his  chief  engineer,  Clark,  a  man  without  any 
training  at  all,  reported  that  in  his  judgment  the 
place  could  be  taken  by  assault  and  without  can- 
non. Acting  on  thai  report  alone,  and  without  scru- 
tinizing some  other  possible  way  to  reach  the  posi- 
tion except  by  a  frontal  attack,  Abercrombie  hurried 
his  men  forward.  By  this  time  the  French  had 
completed  one  of  the  most  ingenious  of  the  posi- 
tion's defenses.  Immediately  in  front  of  the  breast- 
works heavy  boughs  were  placed,  interlaced  with 
each  other,  and  with  ends  sharpened  to  a  point, 
sticking  upward. 

From  the  landing-place  Abercrombie  moved  for- 
ward, crossed  a  bridge  which  Montcalm  had  torn 
down  and  E.  .dstreet  rebuilt,  and  marched  by  the 
usual  portage  to  the  river.  This  he  crossed  again 
at  the  point  where  Montcalm  had  built  his  embank- 
^'9  Canada— 5  Vol.  II 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
T.„„,.„„,ent   and  soon  the  British  a-my  came  out  of  the 
p,.„,         woods  and  began  the  assault.    At  least  three  alter- 
natives presented  themselves  to  Abercrombie.     He 
couM  ha^^  followed  the  road  to  the  fort  and  got 
between  Montcalm  and  the  fort.     He  eouM  have 
made  the  attack  by  cannon  from  Rattlesnil^  H,  1 
and   su.es.  of  all.  with  his  immense  forc^  he  could 
have  s,mply  surrounded  Montcalm  and  starved  him 
out.     These  plans,  if  at  all  considered,  were  aba>^ 
doned  M,  favor  of  the  plan  of  assault  by  bayonet 

THE   SUICIDAL   ASSAULT 

The  attack  began  about  one  o'clock,  July  8     Stum- 
ng  over  the  ..Hen  trees  and  branches,  ^he  adt  "e 

abatis  of  trees  w,th  their  sharp  branches,  like  tx.r- 
S'nZ    •     ""'  '°  ^'  '™^  '"^y  "^d  -n'^r 
.nd,„p.,e,    .7"^h  Pckets  on  the  edge  of  the  woods.     They 
d^d   not  know   what   lay  behind   the   breastworks 
Now  they   learned,    for   a   volley   burst   from   the 

e'rfhwo  k"  *^  '''r''  "-""P^  ^^idden  iXd  t  e 
earthworks  w,th  nfle  barrels  pointing  through  im- 
provsed  oopholes.    The  shock  was  stfggerinf   To 

To  reTct'  :  """■""  ''•^'  '">-°"^'  wafin^pfssib^ 
To  reach  the  position  itself  now  became  an  im 
pos.sible  thmg      In  spite  of  the  orders  to  use  onTy 

first  as  mdividuals.  here  and  there  by  companies,  and 

o,M  no7^™'"''-  ''"'•  '"^^  Braddock's  men,  they 
could  not  see  any  one  to  slioot  at,  and  their  shots 
w  re  at  first  of  little  avail.  They  could  not  stand 
-'■s  hidden  attack  and  these  awful  impalements 
upon  which  the  wounded  fell,  and  thev  retr^a^ed 
480 


MONTCALM'S   TRIUMPil   AT   TICONDEROGA 
But  Abercrombie,  on  Rattlesnake  Hill,  a  mile  away,  s,x  ,i«.„ 
gave  no  sign  to  stop  the  slaughter.    On  more  plucky  "■'  ^"'"- 
fighters  came,  to  meet  at  the  same  ix)mt  the  fear-"'™" 
ful  fate  ot  the  others.     Si.x  times  on  that  blistering 
hot  July  day  was  this  assault  made.     No  men  ever 
died  more  bravely  or  more  foolishly.     On  the  left 
or  river  side  of  the  breastworks  a  most  dangerous 
attack  was  made,  for  at  that  place  there  were  no 
trees,  but  only  a  rocky  ridge  to  protect  the  French 
position.     Montcalm  himself,   in   his   shirt-sleeves 
was  directing  his  men   with  his  usual  skill   when 
he  saw  this  left  attack,     lb  it  he  now  bent  all  his 
energies.    It  was  the  cannon  which  he  had  brought 
with  him  that  saved  the  position,  for  against  it  the 
English  could  do  nothing.     And  it  was  cannon  a 
httle  later  that  saved  him  again.     A  large  force  of 
English  embarked  in  bateaux,  to  get  between  him 
and  Ticonderoga;  but  the  guns  from  the  fort  sank 
two  of  the  boats,  and  the  others  hastily  returned. 
On  the  right  of  an  embankment  perhaps  the  most 
furious  attack  was  made  by  some  Highlanders  under 
Major  Duncan  Campbell,  who,  it  is  said,  had  been 
told  years  before  in  a  dream  to  meet  the  ghost  of  Th= 
a  fallen  kinsman  at  "Ticonderoga"— -a  clace  he  hif\''T'""'°' 
never  heard  of  before.    These  Highlan'ders  foughr 
as  only  Highlanders  can.     Again  and  again  they 
dashed  forward,  and  so  great  was  their  fury  that 
some  actually  fought  their  way  up  and  mto  the 
breastworks,  only  to  be  bayoneted  there.     Among 
those  that  fell  was  Campbell  himself. 

The  sight  was  awful,  frightful,  and  the  sounds 

that  came  to  the  ears  of  the  French  could  never  be 

lorgotten.     There  was  moaning  and  cursing  and 

wailing  on  every  hand.     The  devilish  invention  of 

481 


If! 


THE    TKRCKXTHNAKV    M.s.OHV    OK    CANADA 
.n.„™p,.     Ilie  obstacles  i„  tl.c  way  „f  the   Imh^IiJ  Ti 

'-  -.-,  -pale.  .,po.,  .hos/s,i;;:;;;;;£  ™ 

1  nl.sh  troopers  died.     Thn,,,,.,,,,,,,   „„.  J     '  ,=^ 

Al.rcroml,,o  stood  on  the  l.ill  ami  „.atcl..li,X 
for  one  ,no,„e,u  .li,l  he  ^ive  the  si^n  to  retre.t  or 
chatiffe  the  plan  of  the  day,     ^■e,  '„  this  ,,,  e  „" 
annon  lay  at  the  landin.<,-place.  an,l  in  a  fe     1   , 

>.p  ever  seen  in  n,odern  warfare.     It  seems  s,"  to 

RETREAT    AND    DEMORALIZATION 

™«r;..;^:^7.30  P,  «.  the  fl^ht  was  over;  the  order  ,o  re 

»1  «o.d.s  as  he  passed  along  the  line.  It  was  T,  . 
d  <1  a  glor,ot,s  victory,  Abercron,bie  had  o  i  , 
Iv.lled  wounded,  and  missing,  ,,944  ,^.„  °' '  '" 
■"R  oftcers.  Montcalm  had  lost  37y  Ev  n  tak  nt 
'"to  account  the  usual  presumption 'hat  I  attak 
-R  party  will   lose   nntch   tnore  heavily   t  ,a"  tt 

Still,  .\bercrombiehad  13,000  men  left.     He  would 
of  course,  retire  to  the  landing,  restore  order  re-form 


MONTCALM'S   TRIUMPH    AT   TICONDK ROfiA 


MAP  OF   TICONDEROGA 
481 


Monic*!m 


The 

provincial 
furious 


-   army,   sen.l   fnnvanl   ,hc  can,,,,,, „   ,„„, 

"•-iK,,,  „,c„  were  .,„  his  ,„  k  a„,l    lo     .,V   .s    .. 

Wsb.;,:^^"^^'"'"^"^^-     ^V-^- -e  ..,ey  „o,  at 

a.Hl  ,.  was  plai„I,.  a  risk  to  a.,e,„pt  an  a  acl  , L 
M<lcs  Al,ercro„,bic-.s  ar,„y  was  .  en.oral  c'  T '" 
Prest,sc  of  Montcaln,  was  so  ijreat  thar   ^  «.-, 

chagnn  and  anger.     So  far  as  active  warfa      i„  tl, 
St^  Lawrence  valley  is  concerns,  it  was  over    or 
that  season      iconts  and  rangers  ha.l  plenty  to  do 
and  son,e  ot  their  adventures  were  ver  ■  inte'resting 


484 


M()\T(A[.M'S    TKIirMr 


II    AT   ■ncOMil  KOfIA 


On 


111]    i:,vKi,v 
"lie  ciccasidi, 


ADVKNM'uriS    (l|- 


Ol.ll    IMH. 


man,      f  .„,  c.x|,l„rn,>;  force  which  „,chi,lc,|  Major"' 
srael  1  „tna,n  of  (  onncCcnl.    The  whole  party  i,,s  """"""" 

Mhnsca.le,!   I,y   Lrench  an.l   1 ..,ns  „„„'.  Mar, 

lion,wehaveM,etl,cforein()h,oan,lAca,N„,    Th.: 
-uh   ha.l   ..retreat,   l„„  cap,„re,l    r'ntnamani 

-k  iMin  w„h  then,.    The  a.lventnrc.  of  ,h,s  stn     y 
mncccnt  yeo.nan  in  .Ictail  pnt  those  of  the  Jsi 

I"  fact.  ,f  we  were  not  snre  of  the  to-l,e  tnaior- 
pcnera  s  veracity,  we  shonl.l  suspect  him  of  rom.-mc- 
'^.  He  was  .Ira^jpcl  throned,  the  fores,,  com- 
clle,  to  carry  heavy  loa.ls.  an,l  a,  one  time  l,ou,"i 
to  a  tree  hetween  the  two  fi,,h,inj,  h.,n,,s  so  tha 
by  any  f,.,o,l  hick  he  faile.l  to  he  .shot  i„  the  nek 
.e  was  reasonably  sure  of  l.cin^  hit  in  front  S 
he  was  "re,scue,l"  by  his  captors,  who  after  they 
.a'l  ahiiost  k,lle,I  him  with  the  loa.ls  they  tnade 
I'-m  carry    prepare.!,  when  they  ha.l  read  e,l  Sf 

whlT-OM  P  ';'^'"'  'r  ?  '-""4at-.he-stake  pi; 
"111.  OI,lI-ut  as  clnef  actor.  Just  as  thev  (fot  the 
fire  poin^^  w-ell,  and   were   licking  their  ci,  ,ps   in 

ar  lor  Bu  the  ram  .soon  ceased,  and  they  again 
pile<l  high  the  fagots  about  the  dignified  major  and 

still  '?  M"'''  '"''"'''■  ''^'"^  --  "-i  fun 
poded,  for  Mar,n  came  upon  the  scene,  kicked  the 
fagots  away  from  Putnam,  unbound  him,  "roasted"  or.  ~.p,., 
the  IndiaiLS  mstea.l  of  their  captive,  and  turned  him""^''" 
over  to  the  chief  who  had  captured  him.  accordrng 
to  Indian  custom  and  law.  That  chief  treated  hi,^ 
kmdly  enough  at  f^rst,  but  when  he  retired  for  th^ 
485 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
nipht    boun.l   Putnam   han.l   ar.,I   f.K,t,   lai,|   heavy 
>->"Khs  on  him  a.ul  two   In.ha.i  braves  „n  top  o'f 
tlies€   to  make  sure  that  he  <hd  not  Rct  away     The 

o  Motitreal.  1  here  lie  found  Schuyler  also  a  cap- 
t,ye,  a.ul  these  two  future  heroes  of  the  American 
Revolution  condoled  with  each  other,  and  manafrd 
an  exchange  of  prisoners,  so  that  soon  thev  were 
sent  home.    Thus  emieth  the  first  story  of  Israel. 

FORT   FRONTENAC  TAKEN   BY   THE  I,Rlri.SlI 

JlLiLo,  T"^  y^^l '"  "'at  region  was  not  to  close  in  complete 
bo.h..a„  disaster  for  the  English.  Ticonderoga  was  a  cn.sh- 
■ng  blow,  but  there  was  something  that  lightene<l  it 
somewhat  The  Imbecile  ha.l  been  working  over- 
t.me  for  the  French.  Now  in  French  uniform  he 
was  to  do  much  for  the  English. 

Fort  Ft-ontenac,  the  reader  will  remember,  was 
founded  alm.st  a  hundred  years  before  by  La  Salle 
m  honor  of  his  friend  and  partner,  the  great  gov- 
ernor.   The  fort  had  been  a  bone  of  contention  be- 
tween the  French  an<i  English  during  all  that  century 
But   for  ,t   the   English  might  have  swept  away 
every  atom  of  French  power  and  trade  with  the 
Indians  of  the  whole  Northwest.     It  was  a  vital 
fortress  for  the  French,  the  most  important  outpost 
m  New  France.     Yet  in  his  zeal   to  concentrate 
troops  about  Quebec  and  Montreal,  and  in  the  St 
Lawrence  valley,  after  they  were  not  needed  there' 
Vaudreuil  robbed  Fort  Frontenac  until  in  the  late 
summer  English  scouts  heard  that  it  contained  only 
rr:":  "  "^''''t  ^f '"'^°"-   Then  Lieutenant-Cdonel  Brad- 
o.-,go      «"-«t,  who  had  conducted  a  masterly  retreat  from 
Oswego  a  few  years  before,  proposed  that  Fron- 
4S6 


MOMCALMS   TRIU.-.iPII    AT   TICO.NDICROGA 
tenac    be   taken 


Bra.lstrect    was   a    brave    New  Br.,i.„„, 
fl.cer  who  .lie.1  a  major-pencal  in  tlie  ^'.T 
"V  after  a  .lisastr„„s  ..v„„     ,ee  i„  ,|,e 


Knfcland 

Hritish  army  after  a  .lisastnnis  exper 

Oluo  country.     AI>ercrombie  <li,l  have  .ntelli^ence 

enough    not    to   oppose    hin,,    and    .he   ex,H-.litio„ 

startcl  on  the  ol.l  route  to  Oswepo.     Ura.lstree.  I,a,l 

3.oo«  men    chietly  provincials,  and  many  of  ll,e„, 

were  ,11  l,y  the  tnuo  (  Auffust  22)  he  reache.l  Oswego 

vvh.ch  Montcaln.  had  captured  and  burned  only  two 

years  hefore.    liut  with  over  ,  .500  nien  he  e.nbarked 

an<l  sailed  across  Lake  Ontario. 

The   fortress   was   practically  defenseless.      TheT.„r-„   ■ 
comman<lant  was  Payar,  ,le  Noyan,  a  gentleman  of T^"' 
culture  and  poverty   from   France,  who  had  been  CL, 
given  tins  berth  in  order  that  he  mipht  shear  enough 
sheep  to  pay  his  <lel>ts  an.I  have  some  means  will, 
which  to  resume  his  serene  life  in  Paris.     He  had 
heard  of  Bradstreefs  coming  an<l  sent  an  alarm  to 
Vaudreu.l,   but   the   latter   laughed   at  him,   called 
!im,  a  coward,  and  sent  him  for  rcenforcements  a 
one  armed  man  I    There  were  but  one  hundred  men 
m  the  prnson,  and  resistance  was  useless.     Brad- 
street    had    brought   cannon   along,   and   promptly 
mounted    them    on    a    hill    overlooking    the    fort 
Noyan  capitulated  at  once,  and  the  Knglish  cameN„„„ 
no  possession  of  great  stores.     What  they  could  """'""" 
take  with  them,  such  as  60  pieces  of  artillery    furs 
and  provisions,  they  saved.     But  they  burned  the 
fort  Itself  and  nine  large  vessels.     Too  late  Vau- 
dreuil  leanie,!  of  the  danger  and  started  some  men 
m  haste,  but  they  got  only  to  Lachine  when  the 
news  of  the  capture  stopped  them. 

Old  Noyan  was  overwhelmed  with  chagrin  and 
sorrow.     He  had  done  all  he  couJd.  and  the  catas- 
487 


TMK    TFRCRNTHNARY    HISTORY    OK    CANADA 
w..,..  ,n,,„,o  ,.,,,  „„,  hi,  f,„„.    The  „„l.le  Van.lrc,„l  cn- 

that  l,e  w.n,  ,1  "make  i,  all  ri^l.t  w„h  .l,c  folks 
at  ho„,e.  wh:c  ,  l,c  ,1,.)  ,„  d.arao.cr.sfc  fa.h.on 
He  who  was  ..lely  ,o  l,l.„nc  for  ,l,c  .lisa.s.or  w  o  ■ 
to  l.rancc  tlu,  Noyan  ha>l  plavcl  ,hc  cm  n 
ami  surrendererl  the  fort  withoMt  cause.  The  ,  n 
-Mrv  .l,.l  no,  seek  further,  In,,  fas,e„e.l  on  N  "an 
M  the  ,pnom,ny  of  the  surrender,  and  when  he 
returned  to  ranee  and  asked  a  rehearing  it  .l^ ^^ 
pr.u.led.  Tins  ,s  the  last  we  shall  hear  of  Fort 
^^on|enac  for  thirty  years.     The  lin^rhsh  d  d  ,^" 

tend  to  ,t  for  many  years,     lint  in  1788  a  Ixin.l  of 
Loyahsts.  e.xded  from  the  United  States,  fixed  on 
h,s  sp.,    tor  ,hc,t  homes,  and  the,  ■  founds!  Km," 
^n    .md    also    the    present    Provmce   of    Ontario 
Here  was  dos.med  to  stand  a  strong  centre  of  Zi 
cal  Canadians  which  was  to  play  an  imponam  m^ 
"t    he  next  war  wth  the  Unite  J  States  ^ 

Jj!rTf  "''  '"''"^°'  frontenac' cheered  En- 
gland and  Amenca.  Wolfe,  in  his  .'laractenstic 
ep.Rramn,at,c  way,  wro  e:  "Frontenac  is  a  ^ai 
stroke.  An  offensive,  .larinff  kmd  of  war  willTe 
the  Indtans,  and  rotm  the  French."  Not  only  did 
h.s  victory  nun  lur  tradmg  for  the  French'  bu 
K  mean,  the  loss  of  the  greatest  connecting,  link- 
between  Lou,s,ana  and  Quebec,  and  the  chief  base 

to  New  France  as  the  loss  of  Louisbomg. 


Wolfe 

plemMd  by 
■hit  ttrokc 


MONTCALM'S   TklUMIMI    AT   TfCONOKROGA 
KOKT    Dl'ULfKSNK    FAI  l.s 

lUmnp  Icarncl  ,1h-  story  of  ,l,e  fall  of  ITontenac,  n..,„ 
the  rcKlcr  ,s  prcparcl  for  the  success  of  the  exi,c- ""— " 
<lil..jn  afjanist   lor.   I),„|,usnc.      Ihis  was  the  las. 
of  the  three  ffreat  iiioxeiMe.its  of  the  year      It  wis 
conm,a,„le.|  l,y  (ieneral  Join,  PorlK-s.  a  Scots,„a„ 
who  was  as  h.   I.y  ,„e„tal  er|ui,„„ent  to  co,Mt„a»,i 
as  he  was  „.,(,.  physically.     He  arrive-l  in  An.erica 
'n   Apr.  ,  an.l  eN|H)c.e<l  to  r,„.|  l„s  an.,y  ,ea,|y   for 
."".      li...   th-   ways  of   .he   .So„..,er„  prov„'cials 
wt.e  past  („„l,„^'  out.     These  .S.M..hci„  liie-eater, 
as  they  were  then  and  are  still  termed,  were  not' 
;""1    are    not    to-day,    half    so   .ea.ly    for    war   asT,„,„ 
he  .|t-,el,  conservative,  peacetnl   Xew  !•  n<'l.,nder ,  •■•""■ 
I'orhcs  was  to  have   .,2,x,  regulars  a.,,1  4,3,0  co. '"" 
l"".als  or  provincials.     I'en„.sylv;.,na.  aI.hoM«h  st.l' 
qiiarrehnfr  over  the  Quakers  a.i<i  the  Dut-',  act  laliv 
nused   ..,500  .nen,   about    ,    in    ,0  of   popula.io., 
V.rg.n,a  raised  1,200  and  Maryland  270,  but  they 
were  ,nost   i.,ferior   in  quality,   and  provoked   the 
rage  of  both  I'orbes  and  WashipRton.     Mr    A    G 
Bradley  in  his  admirable  "The  I-ight  with  France 
for  ^ortll  America"  eidarges  on  the  unfitness  of 
these  men,  an.l  asks  quite  pertinently  what  the  plant- 
ers and  squires  were  doing  diat  they  di<l  not  contrib- 
ute men  and  money  to  this  war  to  keep  the  Indians 
off  their  preserves.     These  squires  were  evidently 
selfish   and  cowardly,  according  to   Mr    Bradley's 
view.     He  might  have  carried  his  inquiry  further 
and  asked  what  tliey  were  doing  in  the  Revolutionary 
U  ar.    But  that  might  have  been  embarrassing  to  an 
honest  Bnton  like  Mr.   Bradley,  for  these  wor--  • 
squires  were  ahiiost  all  Loyalists  to  the  backbone 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

rS"exiS::::;'v^:,^:::",--5^->7  <^e,a,  which . 

tribes  had   foX /'bee;  fZd       /T' °' '"'^^^ 
andhebehevedthatvvffh  °^  "'^   '^"^''^'', 

could  restorllhat  s  I  us      Thr""  '"^^■^^^-■"y  "e 
Christian   Frederic   Po  t    .    M      ™"  '''''''"   "'^^ 

wrangling  °™s  s  expedition  was  deJayed  not  onlv  hv  thp 

^'"■"'""  thTr  r  °Thr;'"^-^'f  •  "^"^  ^' '°  •'y  --i^  o 

n  order  %  J      ^^""^y'-anians  wanted  a  new  route 
">  order  to  surprise  Duquesne.     This  was  at  la,t 
deeded   upon    in   July.     The   base   ^r  Bedford 
Pa.,  ninety  miles  from  Duquesne,  and  at  Ca  hi 

^ZlVr,^TT"'V'^''^  perniissioi    to  lead  a 

In  h  n"^  a  1  es       ^    "  "''  "'°^-«'"«^"^^  "f  t'^e  French- 

aS  Tv  tllv        Z  '"'''  """"^'"^  *^°"We  continu- 
any  By  their  sudden   raids      Farlv  in   Co  *      u 

G-t  ,et  out  with  750  picked  t'    a'nd  'ZltZ 

without   interruption   until,   by   September  Trr. 

ing  the  fort  and  but  one-half  mile  distant.     Just 

490 


MONTCALM'S   TRIUMPH   AT   TICONDEROGA 

expedition  it  is  hard  to  know.     That  he  woefully '""' 
mismanaged  it  is  apparent.    His  forward  party  got 

o  find  ""'!  i"  ''^  "'■^''^'  ='"^'  ^fter  tn.K 

o  find  a  camp  of  Indians  near  the  fort,  returned 

his  hurt  ""Yh?-   ^""'  ''■'''  "'-'^  '— ™a 

this,  but  It  would  have  l^en  much  better  if  his  whole 
fon:e  had  been  able  to  return  to  the  starting  ^ 
But,  anxious  to  get  a  name  and  secure  prisoners 
he  conceived   the  strategic  plan  of  soun'd ing  the 

on      He  '^  T  l'^""'  °"'  "f  '^^  "^^n  '"  the 

fort  He  succeeded.  The  garrison  came  pourinE^ 
out  ,n  such  numbers  as  ama.ed  Grant.  ByTmis^ 
understanding  of  orders  and  his  action  in  separa^g 

MlcZlf,"lT  -r'^f -•"R'y  beaten.'captLif 
Macdonald    the  brave  leader  of  his   Highlanders 
killed,  and  Grant  himself  captut.d.    Out  of   heTso 

another  beautiful  example  of  milita'o^  blunder  ng 
The  French  pursued  Grant's  force  almost  to  Loyat 
hannon,  and  made  attacks  upon  the  scattered  forces 
for   some   time,    keeping   the   British    pretty   wel 
fnghtened  and  fearful  to  make  a  forward '„;" 

Altogether  the  Forbes  expedition  was  beginning  po..„ 
to  look  very  like  that  of  Abercrombie.  Forbes  '•"'"^""" 
was  1 1  of  an  incurable  disease,  and  every  mo^.xmen 
gave  him  pain  But  he  was  all  pluck,  and  that  was 
ust  what  distinguished  him  from  Abercrombie  and 
us  expedition  from  the  other.  He  was  carried  to 
Loya  hannon,  where  the  whole  army  had  now  "s- 
s^rnbled,  including  Washington,  who  had  just  ar- 
rived with  h,s  Virginians.  November  had  coine.  cold 
rains  had  been  falling,  and  the  roads  were  bottom- 

491 


esjL  ■■> 


All  the 
men  dii- 
cju  raged 


I'liick  and 
sajfatity 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
less  pits  of  mud  an.l  water.  Winter  was  almost  at 
Iwnd,  all  the  men  were  (liscoiiraged,  an-'  some  were 
ready  to  desert.  A  council  of  officers  ;  held  and 
almost  all,  including  Wasliin^ton.  advised'  tlic 
ahandonmcnt  of  the  campaign.  Forbes  persisted 
and  would  not  take  their  advice.  No  decision  was 
niade.  an<l  the  whole  camr^aign  waited  for  some- 
thmg  ,o  happen.  It  did.  Some  prisoners  were 
brought  m  who  declared  the  fort  was  practically 
detenseless.  That  decided  Forbes,  and  forward  was 
tne  command. 

Tin;    W0M)EKI-U1.    WORK    OF    TIIK    MORAVIAN 

Things  had  really  begun  to  turn  against  the  French 
l>efore  this,  but  the  English  did  not  know  it.     The 
shift  was  largely  due  to  Post's  mission  to  the  In- 
dians    This  Moravian  missionary  deserves  to  rank  as 
one  of  .America's  early  heroes,  and  that  he  was  not  a 
martyr  was  hardly  his  fault.     Post  had  lived  among 
the  Delawares,  spoke  their  language,  and  had  mar- 
ried a  squaw.    He  made  his  way  to  the  Indian  towns 
near  Fort  Duquesne,  bearing  to  them  the  invitation 
of  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Pennsylvania  to 
come  to  a  conference  to  be  hel.l  at  Easton  in  Sep- 
tember     In  some  places  be  was  well  received,  in 
others  threatened.    One  tribe  suggested  that  he  take 
his  message  to  the  Indians  at  the  fort      This  was 
a   veritable   invitation  to  death   which   he  at   first 
declined.     But  they  insisted,  and  he  had  to  yield. 
The  French  met  his  party  and  demanded  that  he 
be  given  up,  but  bis  escort  refused.     The  French 
then  tried  to  kill  bim,  but  he  was  careful  and  re- 
mained m  the  Indian  camp  near  the  fort.     Soon  he 
had  the  opportunity  of  addressing  all  the  Indians 
492 


MONTCALM'S   TRIUMPH   AT  TICONDEROGA 

li!,ln!  IT  '"J'  '""'"  ""  '^™"'  P'^^'-  '"  ^hich  they 
listened  for  the  most  part  with  contempt.     liut  so 

good  an  impression  had  he  made  on  the  Delavvares 
hat  ,n  ,  ,„„„^i,    f  ,^^  ,^_.^^  ^^.|^^^  ^^j^i  ^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

ater,  tl.cy  agreed  to  attend  the  conference      But 

woir; i:;"/'^-^^^"' ?^ p-*-  f-atimetL; 

would  ,t  let  him  Ro,  but  at  last  he  pained  tlieir 
consent  and,  eluding  some  assassins  who  lay  in 
wait  for  Inm,  he  regained  civilization. 

Octollr'^'T    '""''^"•'°"   ^^-^   held   at   Easton   in  a  ,«, 
October.       lo   ,t    went    delegates    from   the    Five""" 
Rations  of  the  Iroquois  and  the  Delavvares  of  the""""' 
Susquehanna.     The  governor  of  Pennsylvania  was 
present,  and  after  several  days'  deliberation   much 
exchange  of  presents,  and  ...cussion  of  old  griev- 
ances, a  peace  was  arranged  and  a  messag.  of  rec 
oncdtation  sent  to  the  Indians  of  the  Ohio     P^ 
was  seiecte<l  to  carry  this,  and  went  to  his  task 

T^  ^TJ"'''''='"°"-  P«n<^''  ^Pi-=  dogged  his 
path;  and  h,s  escort,  on  their  return  aftef laving 

wa"'  s^nt"  tn^rr  '^  *^  '"^'^"^  '°  -horn  hf 
kst  Tl.  I  r  P°^t.P«>-^^^«^^'l  and  succeeded  at 
last.  Ihe  Indians  rejected  the  pleas  of  the  French 
and  deserted  Duquesne  in  a  body. 

FORT    DUQUESNE    ABANDONED 

^r'ench  '°vZT',  uT'"^  '"  ''''  ""'""^  °'  "^"-«- 
rrench.     Vandreuil  had  assured  Versailles  that  he  """"•' 

sTd  amnl  '°  "  f"  ''"''"'^"'=  '"''  ''^''■-  ^e  would '^"''"'•" 
send  atnple  reen  f orcements.  etc.  On  the  contrary 
he  weakened  the  fort  in  order  to  get  more  m7n 
o  help  defend  Ticonderoga,  so  that  the  fort  all 
summer  was  m  a  weak  condition.  But  De  Ligneris 
the  commandant,  was  a  good  soldier,  and  held  his 

•»3 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 
Th..„d.„,  small   force  well  in  hand.     The  desertion  of  the 
iniciiviiy    Indians  in  November,  just  about  the  time  Forbes 
was  hesitating,  was  due  to  several  causes  besides 
the  peace  conference.     The  Indians  were  weary  of 
no  battle.     They  had  been  hoping  for  fights   for 
si.x  months    ind  had  enjoyed  nothing  but  the  little 
bmsh  H.th  Grant's  panic-stricken  party.    Inactivity 
bored   the   red  man  terribly,  and   if  he  could  not 
hght  he  could  at  least  go  home  and  hunt     Then 
too,  .supphes  had  failed,  because  of  the  English  cap- 
ture of  Fort  Frontenac,  with  its  vast  stores  and 
provisions,  many  of  them  destined  for  Duquesne 
When  hungry  the  Indians  were  poor  patriots,  and 
the  French  also  grew  discouraged.     As  December 
was  near  and  the  British  had  made  no  advance  for 
tlZ      '°'™,";:'^'  D^  Ligneris  was  convinced  that  there 
would   be  no  attack  on  him  that  winter,  and  he 
disnnssed  most  of  his  force,  leaving  only  a  winter 
garrison  of  300.     Scarcely  had  the  men  started  for 
Montreal  and  got  beyond  recall  than  he  learned  of 
the  approach  of  Forbes.     Even  in  the  primitive  for- 
ests communication  was  wonderfully  quick     There 
ip-'r""  "■''''  "'J^'""^  f°"-  D^  Ligneris  to  do  but  abandon  the 
I»st,  blow  up  the  fortifications,  and  throw  the  guns 
mto  the  river.     And  so  Fort  Duquesne  was  taken 
without  firing  a  shot. 

_  Forbes  left  a  winter  garrison  in  a  rude  stockade 
It  was  renamed  Fort  Pitt,  and  he  started  homeward 
more  dead  than  alive.  He  was  carried  in  a  liner 
rX';t  '"  """  T^'  '^^'^''"S  Philadelphia,  January  ,4.  He 
lingered  until  March,  when  he  died,  and  w?s  buried 
m  Christ  Church.  The  location  of  his  grave  is  not 
certain.  No  eulogy  is  necessary  over  this  brave 
man,  whose  spirit  triumphed  ov^r  his  body.  He 
494 


MONTCALM'S  TRIUMPH  AT  TICONDEROGA 
did  his  work  with  wonderful  efficiency,  and  through 
It  the  American  colonies  of  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land and  \  irgmia  were  rescued  from  the  horrors 
of  border  Indian  warfare,  from  which  they  had 
suffered  agonies  day  and  night  for  almost  four 
years.  The  colonies  built  bonfires  and  rang  bells 
as  cheerily  over  his  success  as  they  did  over  Louis- 
bourg.    Indeed,  it  meant  much  more  to  them 

\Va^:i,ngton  returned  with  his  Virginians  in  tri-H™or.,o 
umpl.       rhey  had  done  no  fighting,  but  their  ex-  «'""'"«>" 
pedifon  had  succeeded.     He  went  to  the  Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses,  whose  slowness  to  respond  to 
his  calls  for  years  had  cut  him  deep  and  aroused 
that  terrible  anger  which   he  almost  always  had 
under  perfect  control.    There  he  was  received  with 
the  utmost  deference,  and  a  vote  of  thanks  was  given 
A      I      Speaker  made  a  most  eulogistic  speech, 
and  when  Washington  rose  to  reply  he  was  too 
much  astonished   and   moved   to   find   his   tongue 
Then   the   Speaker  made  this   historic  utterance: 
Sit  down,  Mr.  Washington.    Your  modesty  equals 
your  valor."  ^ 

Washington's  fighting  days  were  over  for  a  time 
—he  thought  for  all  time.  He  soon  married  the 
fair  and  wealthy  Mrs.  Custis,  and  retired  to  live 

It  ^'^\r°^  ^  '*'*^'"'>'  P'^*"'^""  ^""^  gentleman  at 
Mount  Vernon,  in  some  respects  then  and  now  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  sites  in  all  the  New  World 

Thus  the  year,  which  opened  so  badly  with  Aber-Pi.f.h.ppy 
crombies  fiasco   before   Ticonderoga,  closed   with"'''' 
brilliant  success  for  the  English  cause.    In  Europe 
too,  impi  rtant  victories  attended  British  arms     Pit' 
could  feel  the  greatest  satisfaction  any  statesman 
can  have— deserved  success.     He  began  to  believe, 


Money, 
men,  aod 
tlie  man 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

and  so  did  all  the  world,  that  nothing  now  could 
save  New  France.  When  he  began  tliis  war  lie 
could  find  neither  soldiers,  leaders,  nor  a  treasury 
to  back  the  war.  The  force  of  his  enthusiasm  and 
eloquence  brought  forth  the  taxes  that  made  en- 
listment possible.  Now,  with  Wolfe  at  hand,  he 
felt  tliat  he  had  all  his  wants  filled— money,  irien, 
and  the  man. 

FRANCE    REFUSES    TO    HELP    CANADA 

Meanwhile  could  he  have  known  what  was  going 
on  in  New  France,  he  would  have  been  amused  and 
encouraged.     Vaudreuil  wrote  a  report  of  Ticon- 
deroga,    in    which    Montcalm    was    charged    with 
blundering  and  especially  blamed  for  allowing  the 
English  to  escape.     He  kept  up  this  absurd  and  in- 
famous conduct,  begginr;  that  the  minister  ask  for 
Montcalm's  recall.    Montcalm,  after  returning  from 
Ticonderoga,  tried  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation, 
but  all  to  no  effect.     The  governor  persisted  in  his 
mad  course  until  Montcalm  actually  resigned ;  then 
he  heard  of  the  capture  of   Fort  Frontenac,  and 
withdrew  his  resignation,  determined  to  fight  and 
die  for  New   France,  which  he  now  saw  was  tot- 
v.udrtun    tering  and  ready  to  fall.     The  nobility  of  his  char- 
rmoim',^""  ^^'=»5  "e^'^f  better  shown  than  in  those  sad, 
hope,         bitter   months   after   his   great   triumph   at   Ticon- 
deroga.    The  only  thing  that  could  save  the  coun- 
try now  was  generous  aid  from  France.     Bougain- 
ville and  Doreil  were  sent  home  by  Montcalm  to 
secure  that  assistance.     Vaudreuil  sent  with  them 
credentials  and  letters  to  the  colonial  minister,  prais- 
ing them  in  the  highest  terms,  but  writing  secretly 
to  the  minister  at  the  same  time  to  take  no  stock 
496 


MONTCALM'S   TRIUMPH   AT  TFCONDEROGA 
in  them,  because  they  were  "tools  of  Montcalm."  c.„»d. ,.« 
the  envoys  managed  to  elude  the  British  shins  ""'«'" 
presented    :heir    letters,    and    urged    their    cause'"""' 
Of  course,  after  Vaudreuil's  duplicity,  they  failed 
Montcalm  and  his  generals  were  loaded  down  with 
honors,  Montcalm  being  made  a  liautenant-general 
but  no  sub'.antial  aid  in  troops  and  equipm--nt  was 
sent.    Canada  was  abandoned  and  left  to  fight  alone 
The  king  asked  only  of  Montcalm  that  he  should 
save  some  spot  on  which  to  maintain  French  au- 
thority and  possession,  so  that  in  treaty-making  after 
the  war  he  could  have  something  to  build  a  claim 
upon.     Montcalm,  thus  deserted,  determined  to  jus- 
tify the  hopes  of  the  king.    He  prepared  to  defend 
Quebec  at  all  hazards,  for  the  whole  world  knew 
that  the  next  step  would  1      '-e  English  attempt  at 
Its  conquest. 

WOLFE   ACCEPTS    THE    QUEBEC    COMMAND 

After  Wolfe's  unpleasant  task  of  despoiling  thewoif. 
homes  of  the  French  settlers  on  the  Gaspe  Penin-  """">"'"' 
sula    he  set  sail  for  England.     On  the  same  boat 5;'-',:"' 
with  him  went  the  recalled  and    lisgraced  Aber- 
crombie.     The  reader  can  draw  his  own  contrasts. 
Wolfe  did  not  know  that  he  was  to  command  the 
expedition  against  Quebec,  nor  was  that  appoint- 
ment regarded  as  certain  in  England.    Colonel  Wil- 
liam Wood,  in  his  admirable  book,  "The  Fight  for 
Canada,"  shows  that  the  current  idea  that  Wolfe 
was   promoted  purely  on  his  merits  and   had  no 
pull"   is   not  quite  correct.     It  is  true  he  relied 
chiefly  on  his  record,  but  he  had  some  very  influ- 
ential friends  at  work  for  him,  including  his  father 
Colonel   Napier,   Lord   George  SackviUe,  and  the 


Wolf. 

CTXStgtd  to 

Mild 
Lowihcr 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  He  was  at  home  but  a  short 
while,  yet  found  time  to  become  engaged  to  Miss 
Kathcn,  ,  Ix.wther.  sister  to  Lonl  Lonsdale  and 
afterward  Duchess  of  Bolton,  I„  December  he  re- 
ceived from  Pitt  the  offer  of  (he  Quebec  command 
and  promptly  ;,ccei>ted.  The  destruction  of  Ticon- 
deroga  and  Crown  Point,  and  the  junction  of  the 
attacking  force  with  Wolfe  at  Quebec,  was  to  be 
effected  by  Amherst,  who  was  nominally  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  British  tr<x,ps  in  North  America, 
ihe  taking  of  Niagara  was  assigned  to  Prideaux 


498 


CHAPTER    XXIX 


THK    KALI,    01-    NEW    FUANCE 

TT^OLFE'S  rank  now  was  merely  that  of  colonel,  woite 
»'     but  Ml  the  St.  Lawrence  River  cainpaitrn  oC""'""" 
1759  he  w.,s  Riven  tlie  brevet  rank  of  niajor-Rcncral  """"" 
H>s   bnga.hers   were   ^[onckton,   Townshen.l    ami 
Murray.    Towushend's  appointuient  was  tliouirht  to 
be  a  mistake,  as  he  held  himself  above  Wolfe  on  the 
ground  of  higher  social  position.   Wolfe  was  to  have 
12.000  men,  but  the  actual  number  of  soldiers  who 
gathered  at  Louisbourg  before  the  start  for  Quel,cc 
was  8,500     But  small  as  was  the  force,  it  was  admi- 
rably dnlled,  and  kept   in  pe,  feet  physical  condi- 
tion^     He   peremptorily   got   rid   of  any   weak   or 
sickly  men,  and  carried  his  scrutiny  of  detail  down 
almost  to  the  point  of  ridiculousness.     The  result 
was    a    superbly    equipped    and    prepared    army 
Ahhough  he  had  left  England  in  February,  it  ^vas 
June  before  he  was  sailing  from  Louisbourg    on 
his  way  to  Quebec.     The  thoroughness  of  the  <lrill 
he  gave  Ins  men  at  Louisbourg  is  proof  positive 
of  his  sterlnig  qualities  as  disciplinarian  and  student.  hi..»mi„. 
Like  Montcalm,  he  had  a  tcmjjer,  and  was  likely  to  ■""'"'" 
blurt  out  what  was  in  his  mind.     His  slighting  ref- 
erences to  the  provincial  troops  at  Louisbourg  is  a 
case  m  point.      These  sharp  remarks  and  his  dash- 
ing campaigns  indine  us  to  forget  the  thoroughness 


TMK  TKRCEMTKN-ARV  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
«;»^''.  wi.h  wind,  l,c  workcl,  ,-,n,l  .l,a,  he  was  a  soldier 
hroMKl,  an.l  thnniR-h.  Ilic  force  .-hicl,  Wolfe  was 
Ica.hnj,  ,o  (j„e,,ec  eonsis.e.l,  i„cl.„lin^.  prov.ncials. 
of  In.t  H.-,iX,  sol.hers.  hut  in  Sann.Iers's  licet  were 
■S.cxHi  men.  Any  one  who  has  stu.lie,!  the  ca,.,- 
pa.,n,  cnt.cally  will  see  that  it  was  not  only  Wolfe's 
victory  '"    ■''■'"""'^•"■^    "'^■"'^    'l''^'    l^ronsht 

Montcalm's   prepakations 
MFANwm,,K  Montcaln,  ha,l  heard  of  the  start  of 
to  it  T  }-''""^"'">^''   »"d   '"sed  every  energy 
Then,     ,?,    ^'„9"'\'"-''^  '""^  '''  approaches  impVeffnab^ 
T^__n.,„„,  Colonel  Wood  points  out  that  Quebec  was  th^n  not 
"""''       jea  ly  a  fort  at  all.  that  it  had  never  l,een  actually 
fortihed.  an<l  rehancc  had  always  bee,  placed  o,, 
M^    natural  strenj^th  as  a  rock.    Still,  walls  had  been 
biut  alx>u    ,t  by  Frontenac  and  atten,pts  had  been 
made  ,n  the  half-century  later  to  strengthen  these 
walls,  but  w,thout  much  success.     The  position  " 
tlR  rock  was  so  strong:  that  the  necessity  of  Rreat 
walls  had  never  seemed  urgent.     South  of  the^<^k 

of  ReV  i  ?'"'"  ^'^"-  ^^''  ^"«  the  flats 
of  Beauport  and  west  were  the  Plains  of  Abraham 
Prec,p,ces  lay  before  Quebec  on  three  sides,  and  only 
on  the  west  s,de  could  it  he  approached  on  a  le^.eI 
w,th  the  cty.  How  to  ge.  to  that  west  side  wa 
the  puzzle  which  had  confronted  the  city's  enemies 
tor  a  century. 

Montcalm'  had  17,000  troops,  4,000  of  whom  were 

French  regulars  and  seamen.    He  could,  of  course 

make  no  permanent  disposition  of  his  troops    but 

he  awaited  Wolfe's  coming  with  an  admirable  ar- 

500 


■  •I  the 

the  '•""111 


TIIK    TALI.   OP   NF.W   FRANCE 
m,u  lam  of  ,l,e  city,  vvitli  2,000  men.  The  remain.ler  ■""• - 

river  St.  (  harlc-s  f.  the  nmulh  of  the  Montrn„rencv  '" 
M"".cahns  hea,l,,„n,-,ers  were  a,   [ica„p..r,,         ,u 
the  centre  of  the    ine;  Levis  aMn.nan.le.l  ti,c  le 
Senezersrties  the  centre,  an,|  l)„„,as  ll,e  riHit     The 
chffs  west  of  the  city,  honlerin^.  on  the  St '  I^w- 
re.,ce  were,  of  course,  K..ar,ie,l  to  prevent  a  lan.hnR. 
^..  (  cfenses  were  place,!  in  the  Lower  Town,  for  the 
people  tlieu-  conl,l  be  expected  to  he  on  th^  watch 
"r  any  larnhn^  party;  ncatin^  batteries,  too,  ha,l 
been  place,!  alon^Mhe  water-front.     So  far  Mont- v    .     „ 
cahn  ha.!  seen  his  wishes  carried  out.     But  vl'^"::^ 
drenil     ntterfere.l     when     he    proposed     to    plant  m""", 

tha  Vandretnl  d„l  not  believe  the  British  cntns 
could  reach  the  I^wer  Town,  and  that  he  objected 

I  400  to  1,800  yards,  his  first  objection  was  absurd  ■ 
tlie  secon.l  was  only  plausible.  It  was  a  seri^u^ 
blunder,  as  we  shall  see.  Otherwise  the  prejl^^ 
ttons  were  excellent,  and  Montcalm  had  reason  to 
be,  perhaps  not  confident  of  victory,  but  ready  for 
the  contest,  and  very  hopeful.  One  advantage,  how- 
ever   he  could  not  now  rely  upon,  the  inefficiency 

a  man  of  as  superb  military  srenius  as  hi.nself  su- 
SaVce.  '""'"""'''  ""^  °^  '"''''"'^  ''^^'^•"-^  ^"'' 
Pitt  had  arranged  well  for  the  stopping  of  relief 
from  France  for  Quebec.  Admiral  Durrell  1, 
been  cnnsmg  ab  ,t  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  prevent  any  supply  ships  from  entering  the  river. 
SOI 


THE    TERCENTEMARY    HISTORY    OF    CAMADA 
Some  c!i<I  indeed  slip  through,  Imt  lie  R-ot  several 
prizes,  an<l  the  colony  knew  it  could  get  no  helo 
from  h.ance. 


TIIK 


BEAI'TIFOL    CITY    OF    (QUEBEC 


rfio-d.,  '  ^'"■'  <^"y  "f  Quebec  is  unique  on  the  American  con- 
tinent.    More  and  more  tourists  visit  it  year  by  year 
channed  l.y  its  (|uaintness  and  lieautv.     The  scene 
on  the  broad   Dufferin  Terrace  any  summer  ni^ht 
when  the  ban.l  is  playinp  can  not  be  duphcate<i  any- 
where else  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.    The  antique 
and    .Ichfjhtful    Lower    lown,   with    its   twinkling 
lights,  hpp  just  tieneath,  and  beyond  it  stretches  the 
majestic  St.   Lawrence,  while  .still   further  beyond 
tower  the  heights  of  Unis,  and  lower  in  the  .lis- 
tancc  the  shadowy  outlines  of  lie  d'Orleans      The 
terrace,  flanked  l>y  the  great  Champlain  stat-i-  n-  " 
the  beautiful  Ch.ateau  Frontenac,  leads  to  the  Cit- 
adel and  the  famous  walk  below  the  walls      This 
IS  the  setting,  and  the  figures  are  the  promenaders. 
All  (Juebec  is  there,  and  in  motion.     Passing  and 
repassing  are  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  and 
women.     Jean-Baptiste,  from  the  I^wer  Town    is 
surely  there  with  his  dark-eyed  sweetheart  or  wife  •  so 
are  the  smart  Canadian  Tommies  with  their  "dinky" 
caps,  inevitable  canes,  and  scarlet  coats,  the  students 
of  Laval  University,  with  long  dark  coats  and  green 
sashes,   and   tourists   from   the   States  and   almost 
every  other  land.     All  are  gay  and  inspired  by  the 
beauty  of  the  scene  and  their  own  quickened  life 
u,.„„a  Yet  lively  and  jolly  as  is  Quebec  of  to-day,  few 
B».i>ec      there  be  m  all  the  promenaders  whose  minds  do 
not  revert  to  a  battle  on  the  heights  not  far  away 
whose  commemorative  monument  casts  its  shadow 
502 


t-fgend  of 
Wolfe  jnil 


THE    FALL  OK   NEW   FRANCE 
upon  this  brilliant  scene.    The  Plains  of  Abraham 
are  nneste.1  w.th  an  interest  and  a  romance  almost 
unknown  to  An.erican  battlefields.   Here  w,,s  fouRh 
one  of  the  ,nost  decisive  battles  of  the  world    and 
,ts  story  w,ll  never  cease  to  have  a  peculiar  fasci 
nation    for  Americans,   whether  im.ler  the   Union 
Jack  or  the  Star-Spanpled  Banner 

The  IcRon,!  of  Wolfe  and  (Irav's  "IMfr,.  ■■  „,at 

<  ash„,p  ascent  of  the  precipitous  cliff,  the  heroic 

Lonsh    vam    resistance    of    Montcalm,    and    the 

supren,ely  dramatic  fact  of  both  ^nera  s  mortally 

stanc--^ have  fi..ed  that  battle  in  the  mind  of  every 
schoolboy  who  could  not  yet  feel  its  vast  political 
rehg,ous,  and  ethnic  si^mificance.     We  a  o  m  w"  i 
have  the  dehght  of  telhng  and  reading  a  JnTha 
enchan  mcr    story,    some   details    and    recemlv   dis 

rs^frsr^"'"^""--"'-'^--^- 

THE    SAFE   ARRIVAL   OF    THE    FLEET 

^H.Tttie"r  "'  "''''"' °'  ■^""''  ^"^  "^^^^"'  ««'  =>"d  T.  s,. 
Jie  hn,e  a  my  were  on  their  way  from  Louisbourg.  ■— " 

raodfv  t"'  "''  ■'""'  '■  ""^  '"^  "'hers  followed  """""■ 
rap  rlly.  1  here  were  39  men-of-war,  ,0  au.xiliaries 
/6  transports,  and  ,52  small  craft.  The  successful 
passage  of  this  enormous  number  of  ships  up  tl  e  S 
Lawrence  w>th  its  baffling  currents  and  tides  was  a 
remarka  le  acinevement.  French  pilots  were  1  red 
on  board  by  a  trick,  and  performed  their  work 
fa.r ly  well.  But  the  Bntish  officers  were  constant  y 
on  the  a  ert  w.th  their  soundmgs,  and  exercsed  tha^ 
e^gl  teentli  cenmry  seamanship  for  which  they  were 
well  famous.  Also,  and  most  important,  they  encou"! 
^"^  Canadian  — 6  Vol.  II 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Sc*  !"  '/'■'"'  "°  ^'°™'-  '"  'his  respect  the  fleet  was  most 
navigator  fortunate,  and  this  condition  was  regarded  as  the 
happiest  omen  for  the  expedition.  The  soimding 
boats  whicli  preceded  the  fleet  were  commanded  by 
Cai)tain  James  Cook,  afterward  Icnown  to  history 
as  the  first  circumnavigator  of  the  earth.  The 
French  did  not  beheve  the  heavy  warships  could  ever 
make  their  way  through  the  treacherous  currents, 
tides,  and  shoals,  and  were  thunderstruck  when  oii 
June  26  the  fleet  anchored  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
Island  of  Orleans.  The  army  landed  at  St.  Laurent 
the  next  day.  That  very  night  a  heav^  gale  blew 
and  several  small  boats  were  sunk.  If  that  gale 
had  come  two  days  earlier  our  story  might  have 
beeti  very  different;  but  this  is  only  one  of  the 
many  "ifs"  with  which  one  is  met  in  studying  the 
progress  of  this  campaign. 

That  night  Vaudreuil  made  his  first  movement. 
He  sent  seven  fire  ships  down  the  river  to  burn  the 
English  fleet.  These  blazing  vessels  caused  great 
trepidation  at  first,  but  they  were  badly  manned,  and 
burned  up  long  before  they  reached  the  fleet.  One 
was  commanded  by  a  brave  and  able  oflScer,  Mil- 
letiere,  but  his  ship  caught  fire  from  the  others, 
which  had  been  fired  prematurely,  and  he  was 
burned  to  death.  The  only  result  of  this  affa>  was 
to  raise  the  hearts  of  the  English,  depress  the 
trench,  and  enrich  Bigot  and  Cadet,  who  charged 
the  king  the  outrageous  price  of  80,000  livres  each 
for  the  ships. 

For  the  ne.\t  few  days  nothing  of  very  great  in- 

portance  occurred.    Wolfe  was  studying  the  countt / 

and  his  maps.     He  made  a  landing  at  Beaumont  on 

the  29tli,  in  preparation  for  fortifying  Point  Levy. 

504 


Fire  ships 
tliat  failed 


WoKe 
occupies 
Point  Levy 


Monument  to  Wolfe  and  Montcalm,  Q 


Wolfe's 

bombastic 

proctaoia- 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
This  Montcalm  plainly  saw,  and  on  July  2d  he  again 
urged  Vaudreuil  that  lie  be  aMowcd  to  occupy  Point 
Levy,  but  .igain  Vaudreuil  refused.  On  the  tiext  day 
Wolfe  occupied  it.  Before  doing  this  he  issued  a 
somewhat  bombastic  proclamation  to  the  Canadians, 
calluig  upon  them  to  be  neutral  in  this  crisis,  other- 
wise they  would  be  treated  as  enemies  and  their 
homes  and  persons  destroyed. 

The  fortifying  of  Point  Levy  proceeded  briskly 
in  spite  of  the  heavy  fire  from  the  town,  and  soon 
Wolfe  stood  on  the  heights  and  praised  the  men 
for  their  good  work.  Securing  this  point  seems  a 
most  obvious  move,  and  it  is  singular  that  Phips 
did  not  attempt  it,  that  worthy  employing  the 
absurd  movement  of  sailing  us  ships  in  front  of 
the  city  and  trying  to  destroy  the  heights  by  firing 
up  at  them.  Wolfe's  guns,  to  be  sure,  could  not 
reach  the  guns  of  the  city,  but  they  could  strike 
some  of  the  buildings  in  the  Upper  Town,  and 
could  utterly  demolish  the  Lower  Town  and  send 
Its  inhabitants  into  hysterics,  a  thing  most  important 
in  dealing  with  a  people  so  afflicted  with  nerves. 
And  that  is  just  what  happened.  The  Cathedral 
was  set  on  fire  and  ruined,  and  many  dwellings 
were  smashed  or  burned.  Chaos  and  terror  reigned 
and  the  cries  of  the  frightened  and  homeless  in- 
habitants of  the  Lower  Town  who  poured  into  the 
city  above,  aid  much  to  demoralize  and  stampede 
the  people  and  garrison.  How  much  more  valuable 
this  coign  of  vantage.  Point  Levy,  would  have  been 
to  the  I'rench  in  preventing  the  British  fleet  or 
v.^udrcuii', convoy  from  passing  up  stream!  This  Vaudreuil 
saw  when  it  was  too  late,  and  gave  permission  for 
an  attempt  to  regain  the  heights.    A  thousand  men 


after 
thought 


THE  FALL   OF    XEW   J-RANXK 
and  hoys  went  across  one  dark  ni^ht,  but  ^ot  con- 
fiisc.l.  lirc.l  at  one  another,  ran  helter-skelter  for  the 
boats,  and  returned  in  a  panic,  disg-raced. 

The  I'rench  hne  ended  at  the  Falls  of  Mont-Woit. 
morency.  It  was  impossible  to  land  at  any  poini  '^"",'1;'='°" 
covered  by  tho  French  intrenchments,  so  Wolfe  on 
July  g  landcJ  just  below  the  falls  on  the  beach 
which  hes  there  now  as  it  did  then.  It  was  his 
purpose  tf.  po  up  the  Montmorency  River,  find  a 
ford  somewhere  anfl  fall  upon  the  French  in  the 
flank  or  rear.  Meanwhile  the  French  did  nothing 
but  watch.  It  was  the  Fabian  policy  which  Mont- 
calm played  so  well,  and  which  \Va.shington  fol- 
lowed with  success  in  the  American  Revolution. 

Wolfe  was  also  trying  other  things,  making Boujain. 
divers  experiments.  He  sent  two  forces  up  the"'""""' 
St.  Lawrence  to  see  if  the  heights  could  be  scaled."'"" 
One  of  these  forces  did  land  at  Pninte  aux  Trembles, 
22  miles  ai>ove  the  town,  too  remote  to  be  of  any 
value.  Cut  it  opened  Montcalm's  eyes  to  the  danger 
of  a  landing  ,.M.rh  nearer  the  city,  and  he  detailed 
Bougamville  with  a  body  of  men  to  patrol  the 
heights  in  that  direction.  Bougainville's  failure,  at 
the  crisis,  tlirough  no  fault  of  his  own,  is  one  of 
the  most  heartbreaking  incidents  of  the  campaign. 
Military  experts  generally  excuse  Wolfe  for  not 
taking  up  the  clifj  proposition  from  the  first.  They 
point  out  that  it  would  have  been  dangerous  to 
attempt  to  take  all  those  vessels  up  the  river  through 
the  narrows  and  between  Point  Levy  and  Quebec, 
and  they  insist  that  a  direct  campai,gn  for  tTie  cliff 
ascent,  or  any  evidence  of  a  central  campaign  beyond 
the  city,  would  have  made  success  impossible.  Pos- 
sibly these  critics  are  right.  Of  that  later  on.  It 
507 


santc 


THE    TERCEKTKNARY    HISTORY    OV    CANADA 

is  well  to  bear  their  .-icws  in  mind  wlieii  we  trace 
the  prajjrcss  of  Wolfe's  campaign. 
«■„,(.■>«„,  lie  p„r,H,se,l  from  the  first  to  pel  behiiul  Mont- 
calm m  some  way  and  thus  hire  him  into  an  enj^'affe- 
niciit.  defeat  him,  and  so  fi^rlu  his  way  into  the  city 
from  the  north.  I^ut  how  to  pfct  in  behind  Montcalm  ? 
He  tried  to  find  a  ford  across  the  Montmorency 
above  the  cataract,  and  a  icconnaissance  in  force 
five  nidcs  up  stream  on  July  2c,  resulted  in  an  en- 
casement in  which  the  British  lost  55  in  killed  and 
^voundcd,  and  the  French  only  18. 

woi.i-i-.'s  i-iRsr  (;i:n-i:kal  attack 

Trv„„,„    A     few    .lays    Inter.    Jnly    .,,,    Wolfe    ma.le    the 

famous  attempt  to  carry  the  Montmorency  Heiffbts 

by  storm.     The  scene  of  that  battle  remains  to-day 

almost  exactly  as  it  was  then.    Wolfe's  bcad<niarters 

(looking  from  the  river)  were  at  the  rig-ht  of  tlie 

Falls,  while  on  the  left  on  tlie  fiats,  a  mile  distant 

stood  I'rench  redouts.     Abo\e  these  on  the  ridge! 

or  heis-bts.   were  stationed   musketry  and  cannon! 

which   the  British  could   not  see.   but  knew   were 

there.     The  only  ford  of  the  Montmorency  of  any 

proximity  to  the  French  was  jnst  below  the  cataract 

when  there  was  low  tjde.     Wolfe's  general  plan  of 

battle  was  to  cross  that  ford,  and,  in  conjunction 

with  a  landing  from  the  fleet,  attack  the  redouts 

and  then  storm  the  heights.     To  one  who  stands 

upon  that  ground  and  looks  upon  those  heights  the 

proposition  of  storming  them  appears  yery  like  the 

scheme  of  a  madman.    Colonel  Wood,  whom  I  haye 

often   quoted   and   whose   narrative'   I   am  pretty 

'"The  Fight  for  Canada,"  by  William  Wood,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  of  8th  Royal  Rifles,, Canadian  Miliiia 
508 


:arrj-  the 
Moni- 
mnrency 
Heights. 
July  ji 


■Illl',    lALL   OF    XFAV    I-|<A\CF. 

closely  following  at  this  point,  admits  that  the 
scheme  might  not  have  heeii  successful  even  hail  all 
the  untowari'  incidents  and  accidents  and  blunders 
been  removed.  I  think  he  is  too  mild  with  Wolfe 
there.     But  let  us  anticipate  the  story  no  longer. 

Wolfe's  first  feint  that  morning  was  with  a  regi  ri,. 
nient  under  Townshend,  which  he  sent  up  the  Mont-  '■"''"''. 
morency.  as  if  again  searching  for  the  upper  ford. """"'"" 
Another  regiment  was  sent  westward  from  Point 
Levy,  as  i  f  to  land  on  the  north  shore.  These  were 
excellent  mancuvres,  well  calculated  to  perplex  the 
enemy.  About  ten  o'clock  a  brigade  under  .Monck- 
ton  left  Point  Levy  and  was  stationed  ofif  the  island 
of  Orleans.  Three  vessels  then  ran  near  shore  op- 
posite the  falls  and  o|>encd  fire  on  the  redout 
on  the  flats.  At  the  same  time  the  British  artil- 
lery at  the  left  of  the  falls  began  to  attack  the 
redouts  and  tried  to  enfilade  the  intrenclimcnts 
above.  Montcalm,  naturally,  was  not  idle  all  this 
time.  Levis  was  in  command  on  the  left,  and  he 
was  reenforced  by  Montcalm,  and  a  very  spirited 
and  damaging  fire  poured  upon  the  British  ships, 
so  that  they  had  to  move  out  of  range.  At  length,' 
about  three  o'clock,  when  low  tide  came,  the  ad- 
vance was  ordered.  Murray  and  Townshend,  from 
their  position  near  the  falls,  were  ordered  to  cross 
the  fords  there,  and  Wolfe  with  Monckt(m  Ijegan 
to  land. 

The  shoals  naturally  impeded  some  of  the  boats,  th. 
but  the  Grenadiers  got  ofif  pretty  well  together  and  p"'"""""'' 
started  for  the  front.     They  had  been  ordered  to""""'"" 
form  in  four  bodies  and  lead  the  advance  on  the 
redout,   but   they   l)ecame   too  an.xious.   and,   in   a 
hurry  to  get  into  the  contest,  rushed  forward  with- 


The 

English 
rauffht  In 
a  trap 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

out  any  formation  whatever.  The  redout  was 
promptly  evacuated  by  the  French,  who  retreated 
to  the  lieights.  When  the  Grenadiers  reached  the 
redout,  without  more  than  a  moment's  pau'.e  they 
started  after  the  fleeing  French  as  if  this  were 
a  foot-race.  The  French,  in  their  intrenchments 
above,  had,  of  course,  the  exact  range  of  the  re- 
douf,  and  poured  upon  it,  when  the  British  reached 
it,  a  terrible  fire.  So  did  they  fire  with  musketry 
most  deadly  aiul  accurate  volleys  uix)n  the  Grena- 
diers attempting  to  scale  the  heights.  Meanwhile  the 
troops  under  Townshcnd  and  Mur/.iy  had  crossed 
the  fords  and  were  advancing  to  join  the  remainder 
of  Monckton's  force,  which  was  coming  up  in  good 
order.  But  the  elements  were  fighting  against  the 
British,  a  storm  hurst  with  torrents  of  rain,  making 
most  difficult  any  attempt  to  scale  those  heights  in 
the  mud ;  the  tide  was  coming  in  rapidlv,  and  soon 
the   whole   force   would   be  m.ircKined  there,   with 

Thtreireat  terrible  loss  of  life.     So  Wolfe  ordered  a  retreat. 

»X°""  "^h'S  ^^•''s  accomplished  in  excellent  order,  the  two 
brigades  from  Montmorency  waving  their  hats  at 
the  rrench  and  daring  tliem  to  come  down  and 
fight,  and  the  other  forces  returning  by  their  boats 
to  the  island  and  Point  Levy.  This  fiasco  resulted 
in  the  loss  of  30  British  officers  and  420  men,  while 
"^he  French  loss  was  but  66. 

Who  was         Wolfe  does  not  seem  to  me  to  have  shown  the 

10  blame  for  .    .^  ,,  -,-    .  *...-. 

iht  fiasco  I  proper  spirit  over  the  affair.  In  his  General  Orders 
of  tlie  next  day  he  scathingly  rebukes  the  "impetu- 
ous, irregular,  and  unsoldierlike  proceedings"  of  the 
Grenadiers,  which  "put  it  out  of  the  general's  [lOwer 
to  execute  his  plan."  True,  but  he  was  more  to 
blame  than  they.  In  his  despatches  home,  however, 
510 


Tin:    !■  AI.[.   OK    XKW    KRAXCK 

he  acknowledges  his  own  mistake  in  placing  liis  ve3- woKe', 
sels  at  high  tide  so  as  to  indicate  where  the  attack """" 

it  I  ,      <  ...  unworkable 

was  to  l)e  made  and  then  waitmg  for  low  tide  to 
make  it.  This  gave  the  enemy  plenty  of  time  to 
prepare  for  it.  Of  course  he  hoped  they  might  think 
that  attack  by  the  ships  a  feint  and  the  other  move- 
ments west  of  Point  Levy  or  up  the  Montmorency 
the  real  thing.  On  the  whole,  it  .seems  to  me  that 
the  plan  was  unw^orkable,  except  in  the  case  of  a 
panic  among  the  French,  and  Wolfe  ought  to  have 
known  that  behind  intrcnchnients  and  with  Mont- 
calm as  general,  the  French  were  not  likely  to  be 
stampeded.  I  must  confess  I  regard  this  attack  as 
almost  as  huge  a  blunder  as  Abercrombie's  at  Ticon- 
deroga.  with  the  significant  differences  that  Wolfe 
commanded  a  retreat  promptly  and  that  he  stayed 
on  the  ground  prepared  to  fight  in  some  other  way. 
The  French  were  much  elated  over  this  engagement, 
and  anticipated  the  speedy  retirement  of  the  British 
from  the  siege. 

CHIVALRY    GONE    TO    SEED 

An  incident  of  this  fight  which  is  always  told  may  An  mcidcm 
be  given  here,  but  not  as  it  is  usually  phrased.    Cap- "" ' 
tain  Ochterloney  of  the  Grenadiers  was  shot  through  bMmtu 
the  lungs  and  fell;  close  behind  him  fell  Lieutenant 
Peyton,  shot  in  the  leg.     Ochterloney,  who  seemed 
to  be  made  of  that   false  chivalry  very  abundant 
at   that   time,    refu.sed   to   allow    the    Higiilanders 
on  the  retreat  to  carry  him  to  the  rear  after  such 
a  shameful  defeat,  and  Peyton,  apparently  full  of 
odd  devotion,  woidd  not  leave  his  captain.    So  they 
were  left  together  in  the  rain,  to  die  among  the 
dead.     Soon  a  Canadian  soldier  and  two  Indians 
511 


Indiasi 
Mart  to 
■ulptbc 

captain 


A  furioua 
struggle 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

came  along,  and  Ochterloiiey  offered  to  surrender 
as  n  prisoner  of  war  (although  why  that  was  more 
honorable  than  to  be  carried  back  with  his  soldiers 
a  layman  can  not  see).     But  the  Canadian  merely 
robbed  him  and  left  him  to  the  tender  mercy  of  the 
Indians,  who  started  in  to  scalp  him  after  having 
shot  and  clubt)ed  him,  to  be  sure  he  was  not  danger- 
ous.    The  gorge  rose  in  Peyton  at  such  a  cowardlv 
murder,  and  he  crawled  to  a  doublt      irreled  musket 
(or  a  revolver,  as  one  account  has  it)  and  killed 
one  Indian,  but  mi.ssed  the  other.    This  fellow  then 
attempted  to  kill  Peyton  with  his  musket,  and  the 
latter  defended  himself  with  his  dagger.    That  look.s 
like  a  very  unequal  struggle,  but,  as  Peyton  told 
the  story,  it  was  a  furious  fight  until  he  stabbed 
the  Indian  twice  deeply  in  the  side  and  killed  him. 
Another  scalping  party  came  up,  and  Peyton  ex- 
pected to  be  done  for  now,  but  at  the  same  time 
some  of  his  own  Highlanders,  looking  for  wounded, 
arrived,  and  took  him  back  to  the  island,  he  then 
interposing  no  foolish  objections.     Why  they  did 
not  take  Ochterloney  does  not  appear,  but  ht  was 
borne  by  a  French  officer  to  the  General  Hospital 
in  Quebec.     There,  tenderly  cared  for  by  the  nuns, 
he  lingered  until  the  end  of  August.     The  guns  of 
both  sides  ceased  firing  during  his  funeral,     A  good 
many  nice  civilities  and  courtesies  were  exchanged 
on  his  account,  but  to  the  common-sense  observer  of 
to-day  the  whole  pretty  atifair  seems  like  merely  the 
interesting  afteraiath  of  folly  and  pseudo  pride  on 
the  part  of  two  English  officers. 

By  this  time  Wolfe  had  begun  to  be  despondent 
de.pond.nt  ^^  j^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^j  j,^^  campaign.     He  seemed  to 

see  himself  going  home,  not  exactly  in  disgrace,  as 
512 


Wolte 


THE    FALL  OF   XKW    FKANTF. 


MAP  OF  WOLFE'S  CAPTURE  OF  gUEBEC 
513 


for  newti 

(turn 

Amhc 


Till-:    TKRCKNT-.XARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

f*"""-,""  •'^'"'reroniljic  <li<l.  but  as  an  exploded  (renins  and  a 
failure.  At  the  same  time  lie  was  lonpnp  for  news 
from  Amherst,  who  was  to  come  up  the  Champlain 
route,  take  Montreal,  and  join  Wolfe  to  take  Que- 
bec. Amherst  never  came.  No  expedition  by  that 
route  even  pcnelr„tcd  Canada  until  after  Quebec  fell. 
Soon  Wolfe  began  to  receive  news  thargnve  him 
no  hope  of  succor  from  .Amherst.  The  story  of 
that  expedition  may  be  as  well  told  here,  for 'dur- 
ing August  there  was  little  but  marking  time  in  and 
about  (lucbcc. 


The  u»u, 
delay  in 
starting 


The  Frenc 
abandon 
Tlcon- 
deroga 


.■\  Ml  I  ERST    CHECKED 

.\miierst  had  t/ .  usual  trouble  of  getting  bis 
trocjps  together  early  enough.  Two  armies  gath- 
ered at  Albany,  one  of  ii.ooo  under  .-Xmherst  and 
a  smaller  one  under  Colonel  Pri<leaux,  who.se  mis- 
sion was  to  take  Niaf,ara,  the  only  remaining  French 
post  on  the  Great  Lakes.  It  was  July  20  before  .•Vm- 
herst  with  his  gay  army  floated  down  Lake  George. 
He  expected  to  have  to  take  that  .same  redout  which 
battled  .Abercrombie,  but  Bourlamaque  was  too  wise 
to  try  that  trick  again,  and  he  knew  that  Amherst 
was  not  .-Xbercrombie.  So  he  took  his  4.000  men 
to  Ticondcroga  itseif,  and  Amherst  began  to  pre- 
pare for  a  siege  against  the  stone  fort.  Perhaps 
:h  the  French  could  have  held  it,  but  they  were  under 
orders  from  Vaudreuil  to  retreat.  So,  after  an  ex- 
change of  shots,  they  abandoned  it  on  the  night  of 
the  26th  and  blew  it  up.  .Amherst  was  astonished 
then,  and  still  more  astonished  to  find  Crown  Point 
deserted  a  few  days  afterward.  For  Bourlamaque 
had  taken  his  position  at  the  head  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  there  to  aw\ait  the  British,  making  his  stand 
5'4 


flourl.i. 
maquc'i 
boati  imp 


THE   FALL   OF   XEW   FRANCE 
at  ile-aux-Noix.    Amherst  thought  that  was  making 
pretty  rapid  progress  for  the  British,  but  when  he 
reached  Crown  t'oint  he  "struck  a  snag."    Amherst 
had  not  started  ..tit  on  a  naval  exoedition,  and  so 
dehcient    was   his   secret   service   that   he   ,hd   not 
know  of  the  presence  of  four  armed  French  vessels 
on  Lake  Champlain.     Tliose  little  !)oats  completely 
blocked  Amherst's  plans  and  eflfectually  prevented 
his  junction  with  Wolfe.    Possibly  he  proceeded  too 
del. beratclv,  possibly  he  might  have  marche<l  around 
the  lake  and  reached  Bourlamaque's  position  by  land 
but  the  general  verdict  is  that  his  action,  while  slow 
and  deficient  m  general  planning,   was  excusable. 
He  had  to  build  there  an  armed  sloop  with  which 
to  fight  the  French  ships  and  clear  the  way  for  his 
advance.     His  equipment  for  shipbuilding,  as  may 
be  imagined,  was  not  first-class,  and  the  w-eeks  and 
months  dragged  along  before  he  was  ready  to  ini- 
tiate any  movement.    Meanwhile  he  built  a  new  fort 
at  Crown  Point  and  small  forts  about  it ;  he  widened 
and  improved  the  roads,  and  sent  out  various  ex- 
ploring parties. 

NIAGARA    TAKEN    BY   THE    BRITISH 

Leaving  him  there,  we  will  follow  another  expedi-  Prid..u»'. 
tion,  one  that  did  something  for  British  arms  and  """''""■ 
contained  an  interesting  story.  Prideaux  had  been 
ordered  to  capture  Niagara.  The  size  of  the  army 
given  him— 5,000  men— .shows  how  earnest  Eng- 
land was  in  this  war.  In  June  Prideaux  went  firtt 
to  Oswego  by  the  old  .Mohawk  route.  There  he 
reestablished  the  old  fort  and  left  Col.  Haklimand  in 
charge  with  about  2,CM0  men.  That  was  a  wise 
plan,  for  if,  while  he  was  taking  Niagara,  the  French 


A  pictur- 
*Mjue  tn- 
SSBetnent 


TUF.    TKRCENTEVARY    HtSTORY    OF    CANADA 

.';:«,:;:..  ^''°"'''  ""-^"'Py  O^^^-^K".  Pri<leaux  would  have  all 
o...,,,  his  work  to  .lo  over  aRain.  The  hreiich  (li.j  atteiiipl 
that  very  thine  I'n.icr  f.a  Corne  al.oiil  i.noohrench 
and  Indians  attacked  flaMimand  ea.lv  in  July  sur- 
prised him  while  he  was  trettintr  n.atenals  toR-cther 
to  iHiild  a  fort,  and  a  pretty  little  fight  ensiie.l.  But 
La  Corne  was  defeated,  himself  wo.mdc.l  and  the 
party  scattered.  lialdimand  we  shall  sec  later  as 
governor  of  Canada  during^  the  latter  part  of  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

Prideaiix  meanwhile  ha.l  reaclic.l  \'ia),'aia  and  he- 
gun  Its  siege.      The   stronghohl   was  defended  by 
600  men  under  Captain  Pouv.iot  of  the  French  rcgii'- 
lars.  a  capable,  hnve  of«cer.     He  was  taken  com- 
pletely hy  surprise  when  the  British  appeared,  and 
at  once   he   sent   couriers   into  the  Ohio   country, 
where  at   IVcsc|uTlc  and  several  other  small  posts 
were  gathered  some  of  the  most  famous  partisan 
leaders  of  the  West  and  many  Indians  allied  with 
the  French.     They  had  come,  some  of  them,  from 
Detroit  to  recover  Fort  Duquesne,  and  were  pre- 
paring to  undo  the  work  of  Forbes  and  Washiiifr. 
ton  when  the  summons  of  Pouchot  reached  them. 
Meanwhile  the  siege  was  proceeding  in  regular  form 
and  with  deadly  effect.     Prideau.x  did  not  live  to 
see  his  victory,  for  among  the  shots  from  the  can- 
non, on  July  20,  was  a  shell  which  exploded  pre- 
maturely and  killed  him.     Sir  William  Johnson,  the 
noted  Indian  organizer,  took  his  place.     Day  after 
day   the   effect   of   the   cannonading  became   more 
apparent.     At  length  Pouchot  realized  that  unless 
help  came  soon,  he  must  surrender  from  pure  ex- 
haustion.    Then  he  heard  shots  which  showed  his 
friends  were  at  hand.  A  lively  battle  ensued.  Indians 
5i6 


PrideiUJ 
killeJ 


THK    FALL   OF    NEW   FRANCE 

fiRhtiiifr  on  both  sides.    Pouchot  dared  not  attempt 
a  sortie,  but  had  to  content  himself  with  watching 
the  battle,  which  the  disposition  of  the  forces  and 
of  the  ground  iwinitted  hiin  to  <li.     It  was  fouRhl 
on  a  cleared  space  just  l)elow  the  fails,  and  demon- 
strated, as  was  to  be  shown  as  clearly  on  the  Plains 
of  Abraham,  the  immense  su|)erioritv  of  the  liritisli 
over  the  1-rench  in  o|M.-n  battle.     These  cuim-urs  rf.-rh. 
bois.  Indians  and  half  s.ivapcs,  were  at  home  in  the""-'"" 
w.xxls  but  lost  on  the  plains,  and  after  an  hour's tt^,,,. 
hgliting   they   retreated   in  a  panic.      Their  chiefs ""  ""«"••■ 
tried  to  restrain  them,  but  were  themselves  captured 
or  kdled.      The  rank  and  file  Hed  to  their  canoes 
and,  after  InirninK:  the  posts  tlicv  had  come  to  pro- 
tect, returned  to  Detroit  and  the  Northwest,  leaving 
the  whole  West  in  the  hands  of  the  Engi;,;!.. 

Johnson  found  himself  in  possession  of  some  of 
the  great  leaders  whose  names  are  familiar  to  us 
There  were  Ligneris,  Marin,  Villiers,  Aubry  and 
Martigny.  Some  authorities  give  Repentigny'  but 
as  he  was  with  Levis  in  Quebec  in  lulv.  this'  must 
be  an  error.  Nothing  could  now  save  the  fort  and 
It  was  surrendered  on  July  25.  The  garrison  was 
sent  to  New  York  and  then  to  France.  General 
btanwi.x,  who  had  built  a  fort  at  the  carrving-plaee 
on  the  way  to  Oswego,  now  marched  to  the 'site  of 
Fort  DiKpiesne,  and  built  and  equipped  Fort  Pitt. 

BOTH    SinE.S    AT   QUEBEC   DISCOUR.AGED 

Retvrning  now  to  Quebec,  we  find  both  French  Fr.„.h 
and  British  discouraged  and  unhappy.     Tactically  •''"''"e'' 
the  French  were  in  much  the  better  condition.    They 
had  repulsed  the  enemy  at  every  point,  and  all  they 
needed  to  wm  a  victory  was  to  keep  the  enemy  off. 
517 


Quc'jtfc 
badly 

shattered 


The 

British  dis- 
couraged 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
But  the  city  was  in  a  fearful  condition  from  the 
effects  of  the  British  cannon  shots  from  Point  Levy 
and  from  the  scarcity  of  food.  The  whole  Lower 
lown  was  m  rums,  among  the  first  buildings  to  be 
shattered  being  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  des 
Victoircs,  erected  to  commemorate  the  defeat  of 
Phips.  The  multitude,  hungry  and  homeless,  surged 
into  the  Upper  Town  and  their  distress  and  piteous 
pleas  helped  m  the  demoralization  of  the  garrison 
But  the  officers  were  generally  confident  and  cheer- 
ful. Montcalm  and  Vaudreuil  almost  believed  the 
contest  at  an  end.  and  the  former  wrote  the  most 
enthusujtic  letters  home  to  his  wife  and  mother. 

On  the  English  side  the  general  and  his  brigadiers 
were  nearly  at  their  wits'  end.     They  conferred 
agam  and  again,  but  the  failure  of  July  31  gave 
thetn  no  courage  to  try  again.     There  was  not  so 
much  sickness  and  shortage  of  provisions  as  among 
the  French,  but  the  loss  by  battle  had  been  one-tenth 
of  the  u-liole  army,  which  at  its  largest  was  a  small 
force.     Meanwhile   the    little   skirmishes   were   all 
in   favor  of  the  French.    About  this  time  Wolfe 
began  h.s  firebrand  crusade  among  the  habitants 
Because  they  fired  continually  upon  his  officers  he 
laid  waste  all  the  farmhouses  in  that  whole  region 
and  dro\'e  the  habitants  to  the  city  already  fille<i 
and  half-starved.     In  this  work  an 'officer.  Captain 
Montgomery  of  the  43d,  was  active,  and  he  stained 
the  name  of  his  country  still  more  by  murderin" 
some  of  his  prisoners.  Canadians  whi  had  defied 
the  British  troops.    This  Montgomery  was  a  brother 
of  General  Montgomery,  then  in  the  British  army 
but  who  loined  the  Americans  i„  the  Revolution  and 
fell  leading  the  attack  upon  Quebec,  December  31 


THE   FALL   OF   NEW  FRAN'CE 
1775-    Other  incidents  occurred  spasmodically  dur-w„ir, 
ing  thjs   month,   but   nothing   important   actually"'""'" 
happened.    Wolfe  was  taken  ill  August  20,  and  lay 
m  hospital  sick  in  mind  and  body  for  about  ten  days 
On  August  31  he  wrote  this  last  letter  to  his  mother: 

"J/  Aug/,  jyjg 

"Banks  op  the  River  St.  Lawrence 
"My  writing  to  you  will  convince  you  that  no  personal 
toils    (worse    than    defeats   and   disappointments)    have 
faJIen  upon  me;  the  enemy  puts  nothing  to  risk,  and  I 
can  t  in  consequence  put  the  whole  army  to  risk.     Mv 
antagonist  has  wisely  shut  himself  up  in  inaccessible  in- 
trenchments    so  that  1  can't  get  at  him,  without  spilling 
a  torrent  of  blood,  and  that  perhaps  to  little  pumose 
The    Marquis  de  Montcalm   is   at  the   head   of  a  great 
number  of  bad  soldiers  -xd  I  am  at  the  head  of  a  small 
number  of  good  ones,  that  wish  for  nothing  so  much  asL«ti«,„ 
to  fight  him;  but  the  war,'  old  fellow  avoids  an  action,  .ohl'"'" 
doubtful  of  the  behaviour  of  his  army.      People  must  be  "-o"-" 
of  the  profession  tc  understand  the  disadvantages  and 
difficulties  we  labour  under,  arising  from  the  uncommon 
natural  strength  of  the  country.     I  approve  entirely  of 
my  Father  s  disposition  of  his  aflairs,   though  perhaps 
It  may  interfere  a  little  with  my  plan  of  quitting  the  ser- 
vice,  which  I  am  determined  to  do  the  first  opportunity 
I  mean  so  as  not  to  be  absolutely  distressed  in  circum- 
stances;   nor   burdensome   to   you   or  anybody  else       I 
wish  you  much  health,  and  am,  Dear  Madam,  yr.  obe- 
dient and  .iflectionate  son, 

"Ja.mes  Wolfe." 
THE    BRIGADIERS   DECIDE 

Two  days  before  this,  while  still  ill,  he  made  up 
his  mind  to  take  some  forward  step  and  end  all  in 
victory  or  defeat.  He  sent  a  note  to  Monckton, 
-etting  forth  three  plans  of  campaign:  i.  To  ford 
5»9 


Wolfe's 

plans 

rejected 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

the  Montmorency  far  above  the  falls,  and  come 
upon  the  French  from  the  rear,  accompanying  that 
attack  with  one  from  the  beach.  2,  To  cross  the 
ford  below  the  falls  at  night,  and  attack  near  Beau- 
port  village.  3.  To  make  a  general  attack  on  Beau- 
port  from  Montmorency  before  dawn. 

Monckton  and  the  other  brigadiers  replied  the 
next  day.  They  objected  to  Wolfe's  plans,  chiefly  on 
the  ground  that  even  if  the  first  point  were  gained 
the  St.  Charles  would  have  to  l)e  carried  and  after 
that  the  city  itself  must  be  taken  by  a  battle  against 
heights.  They  submitted  the  alternative  proposition, 
a  landing  about  20  miles  above  the  city,  which  had 
been  in  Wolfe's  mind  from  the  first. 

This  plan  Wolfe  promptly  accepted  and  set  about 
reahzmg.     It  was  necessary  that  the  enemy  gain  no 
foreknowledge  of  his  intention,  and  so  every  step 
from  that  time  onward  was  taken  with  great  care 
and  secrecy.     The  first  movement  was  the  removal 
of  the  headquarters  and  the  army  from  Montmo- 
■■«"=>'•     This  occupied  four  days  and  was  shielded 
ih.  French  from  detection  by  feints  from  the  fleet  above  Cap 
Rouge,  by  more  poimding  of  the  helpless  town  from 
the  Levy  batteries,  and  by  a  feint  at  the  Beauport 
shore.     The  artillery  was  conveyed  to  the  Island 
and  the  troops  to  the  Island  and'  Levy.  When  the 
fact  of  the  withdrawal  was  known  to  the  French, 
nearly  all  interpreted  it  as  a  signal  for  the  departure 
and  retreat  of  the  British,  And  indeed  it  was  that,  in 
a  measure.     For  if  the  attempt  to  gain  the  heights 
had  failed.  Wolfe  had  made  his  plans  for  a  prompt 
return  to  England.     He  was  in  wretched  health  and 
knew  his  days  were   iumbered.     He  told  his  physi- 
cians that  he  did  not     -cpect  them  to  help  him  per- 
520 


Maneu 
rres  to 
deceive 


THE  FALL  OF  \E\V  FRANCE 
manently,  but  only  to  patch  him  up  for  a  few  days- 
after  that  he  did  not  care.  Just  at  that  time  Bour- 
lamaque  sent  such  alarming  news  to  Montcalm  of  the 
approach  of  Amherst  that  Levis  was  sent  with  i  coo 
men  tc  3s,st  in  holding  Montreal.  Either  this  mes- 
sage .romBourlamaque  was  slow  in  reaching  him 
or  Montcalm  had  delayed  sending  him  help  until  1^ 
fe  t  he  could  spare  it,  for  by  this  time  Amherst  had 
sat  down  at  Crown  Point  to  do  nothing  but  awal 
he  l,u„,,,       „f  his  navy.     It  was  a  cosfly  absen 

was  Lcvis's,  to  Montcalm. 
The  plan  of  the  brigadiers  was  to  land  at  some 

ponn  between  Cap  Rouge  and  Pointe  a„x  TremblTs 

the  former  nme  miles  and  the  latter  twenty-two  miles 
bove  the  cty.     With  that  end  in  view,  most  o 

\\olfes  army  was  placed  on  board  the  ships,  and 
aken  up    he  r.ver.    Of  course  Montcalm  coukl  not 

nght  and  above  the  cty,  and  on  September  5  sent  the 

Z7T  f  ,^"'""V°  '^""^-"-"'^  to  assist  in  the 
^trol  and  defense,  he  st,l!  believed  another  assault 
was  mtended  other  at  Beauport  or  in  that  region 
Meanwlule  the  British  were  reconnoitring  the  shore 
between  Cap  Rouge  and  Pointe  aux  Trembles,  ami 
a  length  decided  to  make  a  landing  at  the  latter 
place  on  the  9th.  But  a  heavy  rain  !et  in,  ..aking 
lat  plan  impossible.  By  this  time  the  condition  of 
he  men  on  the  transports  was  uncomfortable  owing 
to  the  crovvding,  so  Wol,".  ordered'that  during  the 
day  they  should  be  left  at  St,  Nicholas,  and  at  night 
reembark  there  and  sail  to  Pointe  aux  Trembles 


Levis 
leaves  t.» 
help  B.,u 


troops 
talceti  ii|> 
the  river 


Landing 
psstponcil 


521 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 


The 

heights  to 
be  scaled 


Only  two 
miles  from 
the  city 


Wolfe's 
sagacious 


WOLFE    CHOSE   THE    FOULON 

Up  to  the  9th  the  entire  matter  of  the  selection 
of  the  point  to  be  attacked  seemed  to  be  in  the  hands 
of  the  brigadiers.  It  was  they  who  had  selected  the 
place  for  landing  on  the  9th  which  the  rain  vetoed. 
But  on  the  loth  Wolfe  became  master  again,  and 
it  was  on  that  day  that  the  immortal  path  was  se- 
lected. Accompanied  by  his  brigadiers,  all  disf;uised 
as  Grenadiers,  he  made  a  careful  survey  of  the  whole 
shore.  Probably  his  maps  had  given  him  the  loca- 
tion of  all  passages,  but  his;  quick  eye  fa«,tened  upon 
the  Anse-au-Foulon  as  a  favorable  route.  It  was 
only  two  miles  from  Quebec,  about  one-fourth  way 
to  Cap  Rouge,  the  nearest  place  his  brigadiers  had 
dreamed  of  landing,  for  they  believed  these  nearer 
paths  were  too  well  guarded.  W'olfe  said  nothing 
of  his  decision  then  to  any  one.  The  future  of  Que- 
bec depended  upon  his  silence,  for  had  the  faintest 
suspicion  that  he  meant  to  land  there  reached  Mont- 
calm, the  result  could  have  been  only  ruinous  to 
Wolfe's  army.  That  heavy  rain  which  prevented  the 
landing  on  the  9th  was  only  one  of  a  series  of  cir- 
cumstances which  seem  most  providential. 

Wolfe's  plan  was  a  shrewd  and  comprehensive 
one.  First  he  ordered  the  remainder  of  his  army  to 
march  •■om  Po'nt  Levy  along  the  south  sliore  and 
cooperate  with  him,  making  about  5,000  men  for  the 
expedition.  Then  he  directed  tliat  at  Beauport  Ad- 
miral Saunders  should  make  a  feint  at  attacking  on 
the  night  of  the  12th,  at  the  same  time  the  Point 
Levy  batteries  were  pounding  the  city,  and  ships 
were  gathered  as  if  to  land  at  Pointe  au.x  Trembles. 
If  there  had  been  a  telegraph  in  those  days,  Mont- 

522 


THE   FALL  OF   NEW   FRANCE 

calm  would  have  known  of  these  simultaneous  move- 
ments and  guessed  that  still  a  fourth  was  meditated. 
Meanwhile  Wolfe,  having  selected  his  path  and 
the  date,  the  13th,  made  detailed  preparations  for  the 
attack.    He  issued  orders  giving  points  of  citibarka- 
tion,  distribution  of  force,  commands,  etc.,  but  say- 
ing not  a  word  of  the  point  of  debarkation.     After 
issuing  the  final  orders  on  the  night  of  the  12th, 
he  retired  to  his  cabin  with  bis  friend  Jervis.  des- 
tined to  ^reat  naval  fame  in  later  years.     There 
they  talked  over  the  plans  for  the  morrow,  and 
Wolfe  gave  to  him  for  safe-keeping  his  will,  note- 
book, and  the  miniature  of  Miss  Lowther.  his  fiancee. 
While  they  were  talking  a  joint  note  from  the  three  The 
brigadiers  was  handed  him,  asking  where  the  attack ''"«"""' 
was  to  be  delivered.    One  can  imagine  the  frame  of  "eht" 
ind  iu  which  these  three  officers  were— undoubtedly 
■plexe''  and  righteously  indignant.     They  were 
probably  grumbling  tluis  to  one  another:  "Here  we 
are :    We  planned  this  campaign,  rejectinp-  *hc  com- 
mander's, and  be  is  carrying  out  our  suggest,    is,  yet 
will  not  let  us  know  the  chief  fact  of  all— where  we 
are  to  land."    One  can  not  help  sympathizing  with 
that  view,   while   recognizing  Wolfe's   wisdom   in 
keepmg  his  intentions  secret.    He  replied  promptly, 
gently  re'ouking  them,  but  giving  them  what  they 
asked. 

The  troops  at  St.  Nicholas  had  been  sent  on  board  ship, 
the  ships  on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  and  were  all" 
ready,  the  troops  from  the  Island  and  Point  Levy^ 
were  brought  up  and  camped  that  night  nearly  op- 
posite the   Foulon   so  that  they  could  be  brought 
across  as  soon  as  the  landing  was  known  to  be  a 
success.     The  vessels  in  the  river  above  the  city 


1  menace 
Trembles 


MoDtcaln 
expecied 
attack  at 
Bcauport 


The  start 
down  the 
river 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
were  in  constant  motion  all  day  long  worrying  and 
pei-plexing  Lougamville  mightily.    That  mght  when 
they  all  umted  as  >f  manei.vring  to  land  at  Tointe 
aux  Trembles    Bougainville  thought  he  could  not 
l«  m.staken     Each  day  „p  and  down  with  the  t?de 
the    rooivladen  sh.ps  of  the  British   had  drifted 
and  to  cmxr  22  mdes  from  Trembles  to  Quebec  with 
h     small  force  was  a  wearying  work  for  Bougain 
vile,  so  he  was  glad  to  face  the  enemy  instead  of 
hav,ng  to  chase  him.     That  .same  night  Saunler 
fenced  some  of  his  n,en-of-war  near  Beauport.    n 
owered  the  boats  filled  with  marines  and  s!lllo;s  a 

that  the  British  had  many  more  sailors  and  marines 

could  have  gathered  m  those  boats.  Montcalm 
was  completely  deceived  and  concentrated  his  fo  ce 
at  the  menaced  point. 

Meantime  Wolfe's  men  were  awaiting  the  signal 
grouped  about  the  "Sutherland"  which  wis  ^u  fo"  i 
opposite  Cap  Rouge  about  seven  miles  above    he 

a  1  tie  before  two  o'clock  the  whole  force  were 
dnftmg  down  the  river  with  the  ebb  tide.  By  this 
.me  t.e  sky  had  become  overcast,  a  favoring  c^ondi! 

De  I  ,,  n  u  ,"'  ^°^'  """'  ^'^'f^  ^"'l  Captain 
De  Laune  besules  twenty-four  men  who  had  vol- 
unteered to  be  the  party  which  should  first  climb  the 
clitf,  an  adventure  which  seemed  indeed  like  a  for- 
lorn  hope. 

Luck  seemed  to  be  with  the  English  all  that  night 

\Volfe  s  oarsmen  allowed  the  boat  to  run  too  near  a 

British  ship,  the  "Hunter,"  at  anchor  in  midstream, 

and  the  crew  prepared  to  fire  on  the  boat.     Wolfe 

524 


THE  FALL  OF  NEW  FRANTE 
hailed  her  just  in  time  and  saved  the  expedition 
He  also  learned  that  a  deserter  had  told  thf'  Hu": 
ters  capta.n  that  a  French  provision  con„s 
expected  down  the  river  that  nieht  an.l  tl,„  . 
naturally  sup,K.sed  this  was  U  Th  j  l^n  7T 
was  most  valuable  a  few  nnnute.;  Je  "  I  ^d  £ 
very  slow  and  dif^cult  for  Quebec  to  set  supp^ie 

land  and  knew  FrencI,  perfectly,  replie<l :  'Tra„f<.  " 
.  Aiucl  n-guKcutr  the  sentry  persisted  "Dc'la 
rnu^  answered  the  quick-witted  Fraser  who  2  e  v 
th^  some  of  that  regiment  were  with  Bougainv  1  e 
chrenge!'  ""'  '"°""'  '°  ""^  without' furthe" 
gray's  "elegy" 

Wolfristt  to'?:  '"'''"V^'"  ""=  ^^-^-  thatA...„, 
vvoiie  IS  said  to  have  recited  Gray's  "Eleev"  to  his«»^>- 
companions,  and  to  have  dwelt  with  emphasis  on 

rave'^'V'"';'  7"^  ".^'"^  °f  ^">^  "ead  butto 
the  graxe,     concluding  with  the  remark    "Gentle 

thTn  t\"'n'V'"'"    ""''''    -"«-'    those    Ines 
ory  and  ff  to-morrow."     It  is   a  beautifu 

story  and  I  for  one  can  not  give  it  up.     It  rests 
upon   the  authority  of  John   Robison.'then    Wt 
Wol  e   and    afterward   professor   of  natural   Z- 
losophy  ,n  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  who  used 
525 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
to  tell  it  to  his  friends.  Colonel  Wood  and  other 
brilliant  .conoclasts  point  om  that  utmost  silence 
imder  penalty  of  death  was  enjoine<l  upon  every  one 
of  that  party,  and  the  general  himself  would  hardly 
be  the  one  to  break  his  own  rule.  Yet  Robison's 
story  must  have  some  foundation,  and  recent  disclos- 
ures seem  to  show  that  the  incident  occurred  in  a 
txjat  the  j.revious  afternoon. 

While  Wolfe  and  his  men  are   floating  down- 
stream and  femts  are  being  made  at  Beauport  and 
Ponite  aux  1  remhies,  what  is  the  situation  at  the 
I'oulon,  where  Wi>lfe  will  land' 
»rX„    .Does  the  reader  remember  the  precipitous  and 
disgraceful  surrender  of  Fort  Beausejour  in  Acadia 
which  preceded  the  banishment  of  the  peasants  in 
i/Sj)?    The  name  of  the  cowardly  officer  who  sur- 
rendered that  fort  was  Vergar.     He  was  tried  for 
covvard.ce  and,  by  Vaudreuil's  influence,  acquitted 
And  m  the  token  of  the  stupid  Governor's  conhdence 
It  was  he  who  was  put  in  charge  of  the  little  body 
of  nien  guardmg  the  Foulon.    One  can  imagine  how 
far  below  his  proper  position  this  rascal  must  have 
viewed   this   assignment.     And   like   almost   every 
.  man  who  feels  himself  "above  his  job,"  he  did  its 

duties  badly.  It  was  one  of  the  fitting  and  nicely 
adjusted  arrangements  in  great  events  which  we 
The^_^,ro„,  mortals  gape  and  stare  at  and  call  the  "irony  of 
tate  that  such  an  incompetent  and  coward  should 
have  been  put  in  the  place  where  New  France  de- 
manded a  man.  It  was  no  longer  New  France's 
day  in  the  Court  of  the  Universe. 

And  it  was  still  more  fitting  that  Vergor  at  that 
time  should  have  allowed  some  of  his  little  force 
of  Canadians  to  go  to  their  homes  in  Lorette  to 
526 


H 


DA 
)ther 

ence 
one 
rdly 

^ 

V 

on's 
los- 
n  a 

THE   FALL   OF   NEW   FRANCE 
harvest  their  grain— on  condition,  of  course   that  v„ 
tbey  harv«t  his  field  too.    And  such  a  fe^ow^vc^;  d '  -  ' 
not  distress  any  good  Caiwdian  by  compelling  him 
o  do  sentry  duty  Pt  the  f,x>t  of  that  palh.     h  wa^ 
oSn    W  ^"wn  there,  and  so  the  jolly  Canadians 
on  that  night,  all  that  were  there,  s.it  or  sleot  at  the 
top  of  the  hill.     And  Vergor,   their  cSanllef 
V\  hy,  Vergor,  of  course— went  to  bed ' 

„!«  'T",/'"'f  '""'  f  "•''"  ^"•«""is''->""  which  com-Th. 
pleted  the  cham  of  Vaudreuil's  blundering.     The ''""""' 
Ou>c„„e  regiment  had  been  ordered  by  Montcaln,  toXr' 
a  s.  t  Bougamvdle  and  especially  to  keep  watch  upon 
the  heights  from  Ca,,  Rouge  to  the  city.    The  order 
was  maue  a  few  days  after  Wolfe  broke  catnp  at 
Montmorency   and  the  regiment  served  as  ordered 
a  fevv  days.     But  against  Montcalm's  protest  Vau- 
<lreu,     for   some   reason   ordexed   it   back    to   the 
St.  Charles  River.    On  the  12th  Montcalm  rqH^tted 
l"s   protest   and   Vaudretiil   promise.l   to  send   the 
regiment  back  on  the  morrow.     But  the  morrow 
never  came. 

THE    ASCENT   OF   THE    CLIFF 

And  so,  having  passed  the  sentries  aJong  the  shore 
and  rounded  Sillety  Poi„t,  ,he  British'boats  Z 
by  four  o  clock  reached  the  Anse-au-Foulon     Wolfe 
was  the  first  man  to  leap  ashore.    He  led  the  storm- 
>"g  party  (consisting  of  Captain  De  Laune  and  his 
twenty-four  picked  men.  called  the  "forlorn  hope  "  to- 
gether with  three  companies  of  light  infantry)  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  to  the  right  of  the  houlon 
and  there  above  birr,  ran  a  spur.     It  was  choked 
with  felled  trees  and  shrubbery.     He  looked  up  at  Wo.a- 
It  and  said  :    I  don  t  know  whether  we  shall  ]ye  Me "'"""''" 
5^7  Canada -7  Vol.11 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

to  pet  up  there,  but  we  must  make  the  attempt."  ' 
I  licy  started  up.  and  he  went  back  t.,  his  men  at  the 
Cove,  or  l-oulon,  just  aroun.l  the  Ik^ikI.  The  country 
hes  very  much  to-day  as  it  did  then,  and  standiuR  at 
the  foot  of  the  spur  a  few  years  apo  the  writer  could 
see  the  task  before  the  men.  It  is  not  now,  and  was 
k;^;;,™.  ""'  "''^<^"  \^'"lf«=  ^a"'  it.  the  "precipitous  chfif"  our 
,,,„  easily  ni.iuiUed  patli  in  a  sort  of  ravine  with  rocks 

school  histories  pictured  it,  hut  a  fairly  steep  yet 
r.sing  on  either  si<le  of  it  like  a  pass  in  a  mountain 
Cham.  It  IS  scarcely  possible  that  it  has  grown  any 
less  steep  m  the  century  and  a  half  since  its  ascent  by 
Wolfe's  men,  but  it  was  then  not  such  an  easy  con- 
quest as  now  because  of  the  debris  thrown  into  it. 
The  men  Ijegan  crawling  up  on  hands  and  knees 
makmg  as  little  noise  as  possible,  but  going  right 
along  in  good  Anglo-Saxon  ways. 

Wolfe  meanwhile  waited  in  the  O.ve.  hen  cfortli 
to  be  called  by  his  name.  What  must  have  been  his 
suspense,  his  agony  as  there  he  waited !  He  did  not 
know  of  the  kindness  of  F,ite  in  presenting  to  him 
\'audreuil  and  Vergor,  and  he  must  have  endured 
hells  of  torment  until  upon  the  silent  air  and  in  the 

Jromabov    ^'^''"^  ''"''"'"  ""''"^  ""'  ^"'""'^  '"''''"^'  E"!?lisll   "Hur- 

'  rahs"  from  the  clifT  above!  The  suspense  was  over. 
Wolfe  ordered  his  men  at  once  u\y  the  Foulon 
path.* 

They  soon  learned  what  an  easy  conquest  that 
"forlorn  hoi)e"  had  made.  When  the  partv  was  chal- 
lenged.   Captain    McDonald,    another    llighlander 


"Hurrahs" 


'  The  readtrwill  note  that  the  "forlorn  hope"  went  up  this 
spur  while  the  army,  as  we  shall  see,  went  up  the  Foulon  path. 

'Tins  was  more  like  a  road  than  the  way  through  which  the 
"forlo.-n  hope"  ascended. 

528 


THE   FALL   OF   NKW    FRANCE 

Willi  a  Krencii  tongue,  replied  that  lie  was  bringiiiff  v.rr» 
up  recnfonemciits  from  the  H»!au[K)rt  Guiip,  and"'^"'"' 
whil,  he  was  explaining,  the  rest  of  his  force 
came  suddenly  u|>,  hinged  forward  with  fixed  l>ay- 
onets.  and  the  I'rench  ran.  Vergor  leapt  out  of  his 
licd  when  he  heard  the  iliccrs,  hut  was  taken,  night- 
shirt and  all.  The  other  men  of  his  detachment  were 
chased  hy  the  English  and  several  captured. 

The  liritish  xvere  .low  climhiiig  the  l'oi,l„n  amlR'dco... 
IKJunng  thein.selves  in  a  scarlet  line  toward  ilie  w,,. ''""^ "'«>" 
teau  above.    Townshend's  men  began  coming  across  ""  "'"" 
the  river  toward  the  Toulon,  and  Holmes's  squadron 
approached   .t.     A  battery  at  Samos,   a   few  yards 
above  the  Cove,  opened  fire  on  Holmes  and  fown- 
shend,  and  Murray  was  ordered  to  take  it.    After  a 
slight  check  he  promptly  execiite<l  the  task.     Some 
of  the  boats  were  carried  below  the  Foulon  to  the 
Anse  des  Meres  and  tried  to  land  there,  getting  into 
a  .sharp  engagement  with  the  pickets.     Wolfe  was 
so  disturbed  by  this  accident  that  i,e  himself  hur- 
ried down  in  a  boat  after  those  men  and  brought 
them  back. 

What  could  not  these  500  men  of  the  Guienne 
regiment  have  done  had  they  been  there  where 
Montcalm  placed  them  ?  They  could  have  been  on 
the  s[K)t  in  a  few  minutes  and  could  have  almost  cer- 
tainly stepped  the  ascent  and  ruined  Wolfe's  plans. 
But  they  were  safe  on  the  other  side  of  the  town,  and 
by  six  o'clock  the  whole  British  force  was  drawn  up 
on  the  heights  near  the  path. 

Wolfe's  position,  however,  was  critical  and  dan- woKc. 
gerous.     His  little  force  of  5,000  men  lay  '-t ween '»"''"" 
Qiebec  and  Bougainville.     U  Montcalm  s.-t  out  to"°"'"° 
attaxrk  him  from  the  front  and  Bougainville  from 
529 


THE    TERCENTEXARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

^Ab'r'hjm  *^  '^**'^'  '"^  '"^"  would  be  cut  to  pieces.  That  risk 
had  been  foreseen  but  not  dwelt  upon.  Every  step 
in  this  whole  movement  was  fraught  with  adventure 
and  peril.  Wolfe's  only  safety  lay  in  action  at  once. 
He  could  support  daring  only  by  more  daring.  So 
he  advanced  promptly  toward  the  city,  and  at  length 
took  up  his  position  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  (so 
called  from  .-Vbraham  Martin,  a  pilot  who  had  owned 
land  there  in  the  preceding  century)  and  near 
where  the  Quebec  jail  now  stands,  about  one  mile 
from  the  walls  of  the  city.  There  at  eight  o'clock 
stood  the  British  army  av.aiting  the  enemy. 

MONTCALM    DECEIVEU 

Meanwhile  what  was  Montcalm  doing?  It  had 
been  an  an.xious  night  for  him.  He  felt  that  some- 
thing critical  was  happening  and  he  did  not  r-ist  a 
moment.  Saunders  with  his  2.500  marines  and  sail- 
ors in  lx)ats  apparently  intending  to  land  ac  Beau- 
A  night  of  port,  demanded  his  attention.  All  night  long  Saun- 
ders maneuvred  and  at  intervals  fired  into  the  Beau- 
port  camp,  while  at  his  left  roared  the  caimon  from 
Point  Le\y  battering  again  the  Upper  Town.  E\-ery- 
where  that  night  was  boom  and  roar,  except  above 
the  city  where  the  real  play  was  going  on.  When, 
just  before  daybreak,  Montcalm  heard  the  attack  of 
the  Samos  battery  he  supposed  it  was  the  British 
ships  firing  upon  his  provision  con\'oy.  Hearing 
nothing  further  at  six  o'clock  he  rode  down  to 
Vaudreuil's  headquarters.  He  then  found  that  the 
governor  had  already  learned  of  the  landing  and  did 
not  take  it  seriously  enough  to  inform  Montcalm. 
Soon,  however.  Vaudreuil  heard  from  the  acting 
commandant  of  the  city  that  Wolfe  was  marching 
530 


nois«and 
excitement 


THE  FALL  OF  NEW  FRA.\XE 
toward  Quebec.  Even  that  did  not  disturb  tliis 
master  of  tactics  for  he  merely  sent  Montcahn  out 
with  one  hundred  men  to  see  wliat  was  up !  Then 
he  wrote  this  wonderful  note  to  Boupainville  to 
alarm  (  !)  him  as  to  the  attack  on  Quebec : 

"Dear  Sir,  I  have  received  the  letter  which  you  va.dreu,,-. 
have  done  me  the  honor  u,  write  to  me,  together  """'"• 
with  the  enclosed  deposition  of  the  deserter,  or'''"' 
prisoner.  I  have  handed  it  over  to  M.  le  Marquis 
de  Montcalm.  It  seems  quite  certain  that  the  enemy 
has  landed  at  L'Anse-au-Foului.  We  have  set 
everything  in  i  ^tion.  We  have  heard  several  little 
fusilades.  M.  „■  Marquis  de  Montcalm  has  just 
left  with  one  hundred  men  'lelonging  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  Three  Rivers,  as  reenforcements.  So  soon 
as  I  know  positively  what  is  going  on,  I  shall  in- 
form you.  I  anxiously  await  news  from  you,  to 
learn  if  the  enemy  has  made  any  attempt  against 
you.  I  have  the  honor  to  wish  you  good  morning, 
at  a  quarter  to  seven  o'clock.  My  messenger  will' 
see  M.  de  Montcalm  in  passing,  and  may  be  able  to 
give  you  later  news." 

If  Vaudreuil  had  never  done  anvthing  else  to 
achieve  immortality,  that  note  certainly  should  win 
it  for  him. 

Montcalm's  soul  was  stirred  to  its  depths  when„„„c,i„ 
he  heard  that  Wolfe  had  landed  and  was  on  his  way"""'"^" 
to  the  city.    Another  messenger  soon  ran  to  him  with  ""  ""' 
later  news,   and   looking   across   the   city  he  saw 
Wolfe's  redcoated  army.     Exclaiming  "They  are 
where  they  have  no  right  to  be,"  he  plunged  spurs 
into  his  horse  and  galloped  at  full  speed  toward  the 
field  of  battle.     He  knew  what  all  this  meant.     It 
531 


li]  ?.- 


Divided 
authority 
to  the  last 


■r 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

meant  the  crisis,  the  supreme  moment  in  the  life  of 
New  France. 

Vet  in  those  dying  agonies  of  New  France,  the 
ever-present  i^oison  of  divided  authority  was  doing 
Its  work.  Montcalm  had  ordered  his  whole  force  at. 
Beauport  to  follow  him,  and  Vaudreuil  ordered 
some  of  them  to  remain  in  the  trenches.  Mont- 
calm directed  Ramesay,  the  commandant  at  Qiiehec 
to  send  him  as  many  cannon  as  he  could  spare  and 
got  only  three  wlien  there  were  twcntv-five  all  be- 
cause Vaudreuil  did  not  order  the  full  amount 

One  may  hazard  the  suggestion  that  Montcalm, 
as  he  galloped  like  the  wind  toward  the  foe  must 
have  thought  of  the  unhappy  fortunes  with  which  he 
was  surrounded,  especially  regarding  the  brigadiers 
he  had  selected  to  accompany  him  and  on  whom  he 
relied.  1  hey  were  all  absent.  Levis,  his  right  hand, 
who  was  almost  as  able  as  his  chief,  was  at  Mon- 
treal, Bourlamaque  was  at  the  head  of  Lake  Cham- 
plam.  and  Bougainville  was  at  Pointe  aux  Trembles 
One  wearies  himself  and  his  readers  by  the  many 
''ifs"  m  this  whole  campaign,  but  the  presence  of 
Levis  and  the  others  might  have  turned  the  tide 
ihe  three  other  brigadiers  who  did  command  that 
day  paid  the  supreme  sacrifice,  and  to  them  one  can 
give  no  higher  tribute. 

While  Montcalm  is  thundering  back  and  forth 
battle  array  getting  his  iTien  to  the  front  and  urging  on  the  prep 
arations  with  feverish  energy  and  great  skill  let 
us  glance  at  the  army  of  Wolfe.  He  had  less  than 
S.ooo  men,  his  firing  line  known  to  contain  about 
3,100.  The  plateau  on  which  they  stood  was  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  and  the  British  line  occupied 
It  all  except  200  yards  on  each  side.  The  actual 
532 


Montcalm' 
chief  aides 
absetit 


Wolfe 
army  in 


THE   FALL   OF   NEW   FRANCE 

wo  deep.     This  vv.s  the  first  occasion  in  which  ^■■»""' 
this  arrangement  was  uspH   I,„  ,   t7  '^'"^"  force  weu 

on  an  open  battlefiel"     Se   Jar  was  Z"  "rr""'" 
-111/1  n,«  r  ..  "^  "^<''  >"as  wel   piian  cd 

Jild  the  force  we     a^-ranp-pH      Tu^  c         S'"">'i-u 

w.nch  had  fired  on  thSh  artfa^nd'^d"'^ 
chff  was  now  held  by  them  ready  to  be  turned 
;.g.i,nst  Bougainville  should  he  approach     In  tt  fir 
■ns  Ime  were  the  generals,  .Murfav  wi,|   tl        ntr  ' 
Tuwnshend  the  left,  and  Monckton  the  right  ToH^ 

he  ,  oo^r'l?'  ^"^"'r'"^  ^"  ""^  "■•iitions  o 
uie  troops.  It  was  an  hour's  wait  that  he  iii,l  hi. 
men  had  before  the  French  appeared 

THE    DATTLE    OF    THE    PLAINS 

MOXTCAI.M  had  got  together  about  the  same  num- 

S.'rf  the  tr '"'  T'-  "^''^  ''--•'on™ 
valu        H  ""''!■"  "''"'an^en  of  questionable 

catdon"^  e^fie^dTcounciUf    '"^"'T'   ^'™'-'— "™ 

Sn  t^rr'"' "  r°  '^='">''  -^^  ^^got ',?  "s  °e"°"" 

were  Nvuided  when  they  went  into  battle  but  this 
was  undoubtedly  a  lying  innuendo,  Colond  U  oS 
after  exammnig  the  evidence  carefully  dechre<^ 
Montcalm  had  no  choice  but  attack  at  onie     Mor" 

Z    r  "™-  ''°"'''  ^'''"  S'^^"  Wolfe  more  time 
lllijhe  mannes^ould_h3,e  got  into  action  from 

3  \\r 1',  .■-T..       — ~~ : 


■"Wood's"" 


'The  Fight  for  Canada." 
533 


The 

advaDce 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

.t™„„.  Montcalm's  rear.  Indeed  it  is  strange  that  this 
was  not  attempted  anyhow.  Had  Saunders  been 
sure  of  Wolfe's  success,  that  would  have  been  done 
I  was  mchned  to  the  belief  that  it  might  have  been 
better  if  Montcalm  had  waited  for  Bougainville 
but  he  was  not  sure  that  Bougainville  was  coming 
promptly.  On  the  whole  it  seems  that  the  French 
were  forced  to  attack  at  once.  The  town  was  famine- 
stricken  and  could  not  stand  a  lo.iger  siege;  the 
river  as  a  line  of  commiinication  was  closed  to  the 
French  by  the  British  fleet;  Wolfe's  army  held  the 
only  roads.     There  was  no  alternative. 

'Jhe  advance  began  at  nine  o'clock.     Montcalm 
was   very  hopeful  of  victory.     He  did  not  know 
ho.v  many  men  he  had  to  face,  but  he  had  great 
confidence   in   his   regulars.      Some   of  them   had 
I,    ,»■.  '^^^  ^^'th  him  at  Oswego  and   Ticonderoga  and 

were  looked  upon  as  invincible.    All  the  men  were 
enthusiastic,  and  when  he  asked  them  as  he  rode 
along  if  they  were  tired,  they  answered  him  with 
Woif.i„d   glad  faces  that  they  were  never  tired  before  a  battle 
Montc..»    Montcalm  looked  that  day  the  hero  he  was.    Wear- 
ing the  full  uniform  of  a  lieutenr-.t-general    and 
mounted  on  a  black  horse,  the  picture  he  made  never 
died  out  of  the  eyes  of  those  who  saw  it.     Wolfe, 
on  the  other  hand,  w..s  not  mounted,  but  his  tall 
figure,   six   feet   three,   his  brilliant   new   uniform 
and   his   decorations   made   him   a   shining   mark 
His  one  order,  repeated  to  his  colonels  again  and 
again,  was  tliat  no  one  should  fire  until  the  enemy 
■v^is  within  forty  paces— a  familiar  order  used  by 
.Vl..ntcalm  at  Ticonderoga  and  seen  on  many  other 
battlefields.  ^ 

As  the  French  advanced,  the  cannon  from  the 
534 


THE  FALL   OF   NEW  FRAN'CE 
City  and  the  sharpshooters,  Canadian  and  Indian,!-, 
uegan  to  hre.    Montcalm's  three  field  pieces  were  not  •»"" "" 
handled   well.     The   British  got  one   six-jwunder 
mto  he  battle  just  in  time.    Under  Colonel  Richanl 
Gr,dley  s  direction  it  did  splendid  service,  ixjiiring 
.ts  shot  along  what  is  now  a  city  street,  with  terrible 
effect.  _  Th,s  was  practically  all  the  firing  done  bv 
\\olfes   army   until   tlie   general    vollev.     As    the 
French  came  in  fitll  view  of  the  enei^iy'and  before 
the  order  to  fire  was  given,  they  began  to  shoot  in  an 
irregular,    nervous   way.     The   Canadian    regtUarsP^ch.. 
bothered  their  associates  by  firing,  and  then  as  if  in '"'«"'""' 
the  woods,  throwing  themsehes  on  their  bellies  to 
reload.    From  this  and  other  causes  the  line  lost  its 
compactness  and  regularity  and  some  of  the  Ca- 
dians  began  to  slink  off  to  the  right  to  join  the  sharp- 
s  100  ers.    By  this  time  the  French  began  firing  more 
regularly,    but   without  great   effect.      The   agony 
Montcalm  must  ha^•e  felt  as  he  saw  the  weaknel  on 
he  open  plain  of  his  heroes  who  had  fought  so  well 
behind  intrenchments  at  Ticonderoga  and  Beauport 
one  can  only  imagine.     They  were  massed  si.x  deep 
and  thus  afforded  a  splendid  chance  for  the  wither- 
ing, solid  fire  which  was  to  come. 

VICTORY   AND   DEATH    FOR    WOLFE 

The  discipline  of  the  British  was  .cplendid      Not  r  ,   ■ 
a  shot  came  from  that  long,  thin  line  w'ith  shouldered  ""^" 
*"?!;!.     V,^  'he  forty  paces  Rubicon  was  crossed  f-Tr'"? 
and  "Fire !'  came  from  U  olfe's  lips  and  was  re,I  el        ""  " 
by  every  co  onel.    Those  ^■nlleys  were  almost  s"^  1 
aneo,^  and  tore  great  holes  in  the  French  front 
Immediately  the  British  reloaded  and  moved  forJ 
ward  twenty  paces,  bringing  them  almost  face  to 
535 


;  ' 


Wol/e'i 

dying 

words 


'i 


French 

flee,  three 
brigadiers 
killed 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
face  with  the  French.  Then  began  a  fierce  firing 
du  )  and  ,t  was  kept  up  for  five  minutes.  Tl,e  Fren^ 
nght  first  gave  way  and  the  rest  followed.  Wolfe 
at  once  ordered  r  general  charge,  leading  the  Gren- 
adiers, and  the  flight  became  a  rout.  Early  in7he 
day  he  .ad  been  struck  by  a  bullet  in  the  wri  t  and 
lat  r  ,n  the  gro.n.  Now  just  as  the  charge  tejan 

an  1  he  reeled.  Three  men.  Captain  Curry  of  the 
28th,  Lieutenant  Brown  of  the  Louisbou^  Gren- 
adiers, and  Ensign  Henderson  came  forward  stm- 
ported  hm,  and  removed  him  to  the  rear.   S  Z 

nd  aff^^t'tl'"':  '^"  ^'^"^"'''  *"  '^"°-  '°  '"  aX 
and  affect  the.r  charge.    It  was  only  too  plain  to  him 

and  hose  with  him  that  his  wound  was  mortal     h" 

sight  was  growing  dim  and  his  pulse  faint  when 

some  one  near  by  shouted:  "The/run,  they  Znr 

"Th    /"    r  ""'^"^  "^^  dying  warrior  eagerly 

"Go  one  of  you,"  he  spoke  in  faltering  tones  "to 
Colonel  Burton,  tell  him  to  march  Webb's  Sent 

thTbrle  "  'as'^'"'"  '°  ~'  "'  '''-  -^-^"- 
ine  Dr  dge.      As  some  one  sprang  off  to  carrv  the 

'^ZT  ,1"'  "^  '"■■"^''  °™'^^  and  s  Sing 
^^Now.  God  be  praised,  I  die  in  peace,"  he  brfathe^d 

MONTCALM    SHOT 

MEANwmLF.  the  hordes  of  pursuers  and  pursued 

attempt.s  of  their  officers  to  rally  them,  the  French 

regulars  turned  their  fae  s  from  the    oe  andfled 

In  trying  to  rally  them  the  three  brigadiers,  Senne 

536 


THE   FALL   OF    NEW   FRANCE 
zergues    St.  Ours,  and  Fontbonne.  vvere  all  kill.,1 
Then  the  nol>Ie  Montcaln,.  who  had  2ea  ly  E 

jin,.u.„,t,aSrSird?::;er^£^5:! 

.nl-n/","/  "n.^"^  ="  °"-  ^-roun<Ied  t^-r    ' 

6<>»LV'«m!w' '"said','  "'""■-  f'^''  /""  >"""  """'• '"« -^  ^"-' 
he  w"s  "^^T, V  h    t    and' Ir  tf'^-     '"'  ''  "^"^"^ "'"'"" 

5s[;:tS^:|^::^c-,-^-^o^,.^. 
H"xr;rfd^.--j,-^^^^^^ 

such  world  revolutions  have  taken  SS  ,n  suS  I 
bewildenngly  brief  space  of  time 

-H^o'f^srswt^-H;;::?^^^^^^^ 

h    d  O    w1  ''°^'  "'  P^"'^  "'^  Fre'nch  ecu  d  h  :!""^ 
he  d  Quebec  for  weeks.    The  first  shift  of  the  battle's 
fortunes  catrie  not  from  the  French  regulars  whom 
four  generals  lost  their  lives  in  attempting  to  r  H^ 
hose  troops  <ud  not  stop  in  their  mad  flight     ntil 
they  had  descended  the  clifj  to  St.  Roch.     But  th 
Canad.ans  and  Indians  who  played  such  a  weak  p 
If!  ^^"-'y  fi?':,''"^  "o^v  came  into  the  scene,  figi,  . 
■ng  from  behmd  defenses  and  hence  bras  e  a  id  !ffi- 


Canadiani 
against 
High- 
binders 


U'>ug;iin- 


reiUr-cs 
the  crisis 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
cient.  Sonie  of  them  behind  brushes  and  trees  on  the 
l-rench  right  jwured  a  disastrous  fire  into  the  British 
attacking  party.  They  were  driven  off,  but  only 
after  a  sharp  exchange  of  compliments.  The  British 
there  were  abruptly  checked. 

Otliers  of  the  Canadians  who  had  fled  at  the  first 
fire  rallied  at  the  Cote  d'Abraham  and  did  consider- 
able damage  to  the  Highlanders  opposite  them.  The 
Highlanders  eventually  drove  the  Canadians  away 
but  only  after  they  had  to  send  for  reenforcements 
By  this  time  the  frightened  Frenchmen  below  had  re- 
formed and  joined  some  of  the  Canadians,  present- 
mg  a  front  which  the  pursuing  British  thought  best 
not  to  attack. 

BOUGAINVILLE   TOO  LATE 

What  of  Bougainville  all  this  time?    The  reader 
recalls  that  he  was  at  Pointe  aux  Trembles  22  miles 
up  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Quebec  the  night  of  the 
ascent  of  the  cliff,  expecting  the  attack  to  be  made 
at  that  point.     When  morning  dawned  he  saw  thai 
the  warships  which  had  threatened  him  the  night  be- 
fore had  disappeared  and  that  there  was  no  trace  of 
the  army  of  Wolfe.     Soon  he  heard  the  cannon  at 
banios,  and  feeling  that  somethingextraor.linary  was 
happening  he  set  out  at  once  for  Cap  Rouge.     At 
nine  o'clock  he  reached  that  place  and  received  Vau- 
dreuil  s  unspeakable  note.     From  it  he  realized  the 
crisis  which  confr-  nted  French  arms.     He  hurried 
on  and  in  two  hours,  by  eleven  o'clock,  the  battlefield 
lay  before  his  gaze.    Could  he  have  arrived  an  hour 
earlier  he  might  have  turned  the  tide  of  battle- 
but  that  IS  only  another  of  those  innumerable  "ifs" 
whose  consideration  we  dismissed  long  ago.     Bou- 
538 


THE   FALL  OF   NEW   FRA.VCE 
gainyille  at  once  attacked  the  Samos  battery  with  sm,^^ 
small  detachment,  but  the  attack  was  repuhed      By  ""^ 
th,s  t,me  the  presence  of  his  force  became  known 
to  the  mam  body  ol  Wolfe's  army,  now  under  Town" 
field      ,f  °.'"™^''  '°  ''■■-•e  Boufrainyille  from  the 

infantry,  he  was  able  to  make  such  a  ,x>werful  dem- 
onstra,on  that  Bougamville  retired  to  Ancienne 
Lorette.  nme  mdes  northwest  of  Quebec 

Thus  closed  the  day  on  which  New  France  l,ecan,e 
only  Canada,  for  while  there  were  aiany  chances 
for   he  French  reoccupation,  the  events  oHhe  thir 

of  th.°P,    ^'T^'^""'  '^"''-    ^"h°"eh  the  battle 
of  the  Plams  lasted  but  seven  minutes,  it  was  a 

s.de  nine  officers  and  49  men  were  killed,  and  c-'"""- 
officers  and  542  men  wounded.     The  French  lo« """"" 
was  much  heavier,  although  we  are  not  able  to  know 
the  exac  figures.    We  know  of  course  that  four  ..en 
erals  and  at  least  one  colonel  were  killed,  and  about 
300  men  m  all  killed  is  a  fair  estimate. 

MONTCALM    AND   WOLFE 

Now  let  us  leave  Townshend  intrenching  hhnself 
agamst  a  renewal  of  attack  from  the  I.rench.  Levis 
flymg  rom  Montreal  to  redeem  his  country's  for- 
tunes, Vaudreuil  and  Bigot  plottmg  to  de^de  the 
next  step,  and  Bougainville  eating  h.fheartlt^Wtl' 
remorse  that  he  could  not  have  been  able  to  turn  the 
bat  le-let  us  leave  all  these  at  their  several  "alE 
that  n,ght  and  turn  to  the  two  heroes  of  the  conflict, 
the  one  dead,  the  other  dying. 

The  body  of  Wolfe  was  taken  that  afternoon  to 
i'oint  Levy  and  there  embalmed.     On  the  "Royal 
539 


f[ 


HIE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

L^Ln  )y"''3"i"  '  ^vas  borne  to  England.  It  arrived  at 
horn.  I  oiisnioiitli,  Novemlier  i8,  iiid  was  taken,  attended 
by  the  greatest  [Xjssible  hnnnrs,  to  London  and 
interred  at  (ireenwich  on  the  20th.  The  whole 
world  .lid  him  honor,  but  his  country  could  not 
expend  tlie  money  needed  to  carry  out  tlie  terms  of 
his  will  he  having  by  a  wrong  computation  ordered 
the  dis)x.siti"n  of  £2,000  more  than  his  estate  con- 
tained. The  ignoble  loftiness  of  this  action  by 
Great  Britain  to  the  victorious  hero  may  lie  con- 
trasted with  the  honorable  generositv  of  France  to- 
ward her  vanquished  hero.  I'.ngland'did  finally  vote 
W<  Ife  a  monument  in  the  Abbey,  but  only  after 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  Parliament.  Can- 
ada too  was  slow  in  showing  proper  honor  to  his 
name.  A  simple  shaft  now  marks  the  spot  where 
he  fell,  but  its  inscription,  only  four  words,  is  rarely 
eloquent  : 

K'-re  Died  Wolfe  I'ictorious 

While  Wolfe's  body  was  being  borne  to  Point 
Levy,  Montcalm  lay  in  Surgeon  Arnou.x's  house 
on  St.  Louis  street,  which  is  still  pointed  out  to  vis- 
itors to  the  old  cajiital.  Me  knew  he  was  dying,  and 
calmly  made  his  preparations  for  the  end.  He  asked 
that  his  papers  be  given  to  Levis,  whom  he  loved  and 
trusted  and  professionally  esteemed  most  highly, 
and  he  then  sent  his  farewell  messages  to  the  bereft 
home  in  sunny  .southern  l-'rance,  to  his  mother,  his 
wife,  and  each  01  their  children.  The  aged  bi.s'hop, 
Pontbriand.  himself  marked  for  early  death  and' 
feeble  and  heart-broken,  visited  him  and  adminis- 
tered the  viaticum.  Even  in  his  last  hours  and  know- 
mg  that  he  was  dying,  the  men  who  had  made  his 
540 


The  last 
liours  of 
Montcalm 


TH1-:   FALL  OF    NEW   FRANCE 
jot  so  unhappy  in  his  lifetime  and  were  t.  Jander  Hu  .„,„, 
h.m  after  h,s  death,  Big  ,t  and  Vaudreuil,  sent  a '"•""••« 
messaffe    to    hin,    asking    what    thev    should    <lo. '"'"'' 
He  rephed  tluit  he  would  advise  nothing;  but  sue- 
gesteu   three  alternatives,   to  keep   up  the  contest 
witinn  the  c<ty,  to  surremler.  or  to  retreat  to  facnues 
L-iinier.  ■       ' 

When  Kaniesay,  commandant  of  the  citv,  the  man 
who  had  refused  to  send  him  the  cannon  ihat  might 
have  made  h.s  march  invincible,  sent  that  nieht  for 
Montcalm  s  orders,  he  replied  : 

"I  will  neither  giv,-  onlcrs  n.>r  interfere  any 
further.  I  have  much  business  that  must  be  at- 
tended to  of  greater  moment  than  your  ruined  gar- 
rison and  this  wretched  country.  My  time  is  very 
short;  therefore  pray  leave  me.  I  wish  you  all 
comfort,  and  to  be  happily  extricated  from  -.our 
present  perplexities." 

Tradition  has  it  that  he  sent  a  note  to  the  British 
commander  asking  him  to  be  kind  to  the  Canadians 
and  coi^ies  of  this  note  aie  extant,  but  there  is  also 
a  copy  of  another  note  in  which  he  si)eaks  of  being 
compelled  to  surren.'cr  QuC  x  to  him  and  asks  for 
his  kindness  to  his  sick  and  wounded.  Of  the  two 
notes  the  latter  is  certainly  genuine.  He  could 
hardly  have  written  two  notes  to  the  same  man 

Having  said  farewell  to  all,  he  pas-sed  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night  in  prayer  am!  thanksgiving  that 
he  could  die  a  Christian  and  a  Catholic,  assured  of 
forgiveness  and  salvation.  At  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  the  14th  he  died. 

No  coffin-maker  cmild  be  found,  and  so  an  old  n. 
servant  of  the  Ursulines,  the  good  Michel    nailed '"""•' °' 
together  a  nide  box  of  boards,  and  into  it  the  bo<ly  "°"'""" 
S4I 


.»,! 


RurfH  at 


The 

0[il>'  nam 
Bpared 
by  Ihc 

lt.-v,jlull, 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CAS'ADA 

of  the  great  Marquis  was  laid.  The  burial  took 
place  at  nine  o'clock  that  night,  a  funeral  procession 
of  officers,  women,  and  children  nticndins  it  Inter- 
ment was  made  in  the  Ursuline  Chapel  in  a  piave 
formed  by  the  hole  made  by  a  British  shell.  A 
monumental  tablet  was  placed  in  the  ch,-|)el  and 
unveiled  on  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  his 
death,  September  14th.  1850,  the  occasion  being 
one  of  profound  honor  ind  symbolic  attestation  to 
his  memory.  This  tablet,  which  stands  to-day  in 
that  chapel  which  thousands  of  strangers  visit  every 
year,  reads: 

Unniwur  1)  Montcalm 

Lt  Destin 

En  Lui  Derobant  'a  Victoire 

L'a  Recompense 

Par  line  Mort  Ghrieuse 

France  never  fails  in  honoring  her  illustrioiiG  sons. 
Her  treatment  of  Montcalm's  family  stands  in  glow- 
ing contrast  to  Great  Britain's  penurious  action 
toward  Wolfe's.  His  family  was  pensioned  and 
always  held  in  the  greatest  reverence.  Even  the 
Revolution  spared  that  one  name.  The  madmen 
who  ruled  France  in  those  awful  days  cut  ofif  every 
'  pension  but  the  one  to  Moncalm's  familv,  a  most 
remarkable  tribute  to  the  purity  of  his  record  ,i.nd 
the  nobility  of  his  ideals  and  life. 

The  sublime  and  unique  circumstance  of  the  death 
of  these  two  beloved  chieftains  on  the  same  field 
of  battle  was  the  inspiration  of  the  happy  suggestion 
th.it  a  joint  monument  be  erected  to  their  memory. 
So  there  stands  just  west  of  the  Chateau  Fronteiiac 
542 


■•«  mrnvi.dr,„ii 

1  ia  council 

't^i.   in<i 


THK    FALL  OF   \EW  FRANCE 
in  Quebec  a  tall  stone  sha.t.    On  one  sid'  is  graven  Th.  )oi„, 
MoiilaUm;  on  the  other  Wolfe,  and  on  the  pedestal :  °'°""°""' 
Mortem  Virtus  Commn- 
Famam  Historia 
Monumentum  Paste 
Dedit 

QUEBEC    TAKEN    BY   1  ,  .  . 

Now  from  niomimentb  ar  '  .   ,,;..n, 
to  battle-stained   Quebec  and  its   f..., 
afternoon  of  September  13th,  1759.     \' 
Bigot  were  closeted  together  at  the  ^\  rles  1  n- 

gaged  ;n  drawing  up  some  pa.\^y.    An  officer  enter- 
mg  was  ordered  out.  but  gained  a  ghmpsc  ai  the 
pai)cr  and  believed  it  was  a  capitulation.    So  he  went 
about  pleading  that  other  officers  demand  a  sliare  in 
the  council.   This  was  done  and  the  council  was  held. 
What  took  place  there  we  can  not  know     Vaudreuil 
declares  he  was  for  fighting,  l>ut  was  overruled  by 
the  officers.    Almost  certainly  lie  lied.    At  anv  rate 
It  was  at  length  decided  to  retreat  to  Jacques  Carr-r.  ,?r",lV 
At  nine  o'clock  that  night  Vaudreuil  gave  the  com-  *  °""''* 
mand  and  the  retreat  was  conducted  under  his  or- 
ders.    It  was  the  wrong  thing  to  do  under  the  cir- 
cumstances.   Townshend  ws  ;  not  thinking  of  tak,ng 
the  inuiative  for  a  day  cr  two;  on  the  other  hand 
he  was  busily  engaged  until  far  into  the  night  in 
building  redouts  and  iiitrenchnients.  Vaudreuil  could 
have  taken  his  army  and  joined  Bougainville's  only 
a  few  miles  away  and  thus  kqrt  up  a  rear  attack  on 
the  British  which  would  have  been  very  dangerous. 
It  is  said  that  some  of  the  officers  voted  to  retreat  be- 
cause Vaudreuil  would  insist  upon  commanding  the 
543 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
army,  and  no  army  could  win  with  such  a  leader 
Could  they  have  known  that  Levis  was  hurrying  to 
jom  them,  their  decision  might  have  been  different 
But  retreat  was  the  order,  and  retreat  it  was     The 
only  other  order  written  by  the  governor  was  one 
sent  to  Ramcsay  authorising  the  surrender  forty- 
e.ght  hours  after  the  retreat.   He  then  began  the  trek 
to  Jacques  Cartier  which  was  more  disgraceful  and 
disorderly  than  even  the  retreat  of  the  English  under 
T,.._^,.,..,  Abercoml.ie  after  their  defeat  by  Montcalm  at  Ti- 
conderoga.     The  soldiers  did  not  march :  thej  ran 
It  was  a  mob,  a  panic-stricken  mob,  the  second  time 
they  had  so  formed  themselves  within  twenty-four 
hours,     riirough  settlement  and  village  they  passed 
untd  they  were  safe  at  Jacques  Cartier,  thirty  miles 
west  of  Quebec,  on  the  St,  Lawrence.     Of 'course 
there  was  no  pursuit.    Towishend  did  not  dream  of 
such  terror  and  incompetency.  Vaudreuil  did  leave 
a  large  store  of  provisions  at  Beauport  for  the  gar- 
rison, but  neglected  to  inform  Ramesay  of  that  fact 
and  the  rabble  and  the  Indians  soon  found  it  and 
rifled  It. 

Ramesay  was  in  a  terrible  plight.  He  had  re- 
cently left  the  sick  bed,  but  his  spirit  was  brave. 
\V  ith  any  sort  of  support  he  would  certainly  have 
given  a  good  account  of  himself  in  defending  the 
city.  He  had  less  than  700  French  regulars  some 
sadors  and  the  militia,  all  brave  enough,  but  not 
sufficiently  numerous  or  well  provisioned  for  such 
n  crisis.  The  starving  multitude  who  had  fled  to 
T,,cpiw,  Beauport  at  the  British  army's  approach  now  re- 
turned to  the  city  with  the  stragglers  and  the  inh.ib- 
itants  of  the  small  towns  in  the  neighlmrhood  This 
multitude  clamored  for  food,  and  there  was  no  food. 

S44 


THE    FALL   OF   NEW   FRANCE 

The  mayor  and  leading  citizens  implored  Ramesay 

o  surren<ler      He  !,eM  a  council  of  war,  and  aU 

except  one  r.dy.sed  surrender.     But  he  st  11  hoped 

The  coming  of  Levis  seemed  at  first  to  be  the 

s.gnal  for  a  new  hope  i„  the  French  forces.    He  had 

reccved  from  Vaudreuil's  courier  the  news  of  the 

defeat  and  hurned  from  ifontreal  with  all  speed 

His  consternation  on  arriving  at  Jacnues  Cartier 

was  only  exceeded  by  his  angef    He  round  y^^'^i' 

Vaudreud  for  his  retreat,  and  especially  "  ,r  the  ml^ 

ner  of  ,t^^  and  demanded  that  the  arm,   ret  r,    and 

protect  Quebec.     The  go,-ernor  consemed  and  an 

advance   force   was   sent   with  provisions  and   an 

encouragmg  message  to   Ran,esay.      Probably  th" 

sh.fty  governor  did  not  inform  Levis  o.  his  order! 

to  Ramesay.     At  any  rate,  on  the  .8th,  Vaudrcuil 

sent  another  n,essage  to  Ramesay  revoking  his  p  e 

V.OUS  order  and  urging  him  to  hold  out  as  fhe  whole 

army  was  com mg  to  his  relief.    The  army  did  start 

newsZt  7'r"'  ""/  """'"S  ■'  "'■''^  ^"^lij  by  th 
news  that  the  Ln>on  Jack  was  flying  over  the  city. 

There  are  the  usual  criminations  and  recrimina- 

t.ons   about    that   surrender.      Certainly,  hou^er 

R  mesay  can  not  be  blamed.     It  is  true  he  had  re: 

ce.ved  an   mdefinite  promise  of  relief   from   Vau- 

<lreud    but  no  one  knew  better  than  Ramesay    he 

vorthlessness  of  such  a  promise.     The  city',    itua! 

o.  the  17th  the  navy  made  its  last  o.  the  many  and 
vital  contributions  to  the  British  cause  in  this  siege 
Saunders  closed  in  with  twelve  warships  and  pfe 
pared  to  bombard  the  already  battered  and  sha.ti^ed 

545 


Urn 
flurries  ti 
ilie  tleld 


Too  lite 


Ilritish 
navy  h>gi,i 
tu  auack 
Uuebct 


PUnt  tor 
the  auault 


The  city 
surren- 
dered, S 
•8,  1759 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
city.  Townshend  having  got  his  guns  in  pfsition  was 
also  ready  to  open  fire.  After  this  cannonading  the 
British  seaman  were  to  enter  the  Lower  Town  and 
the  soldiers  with  Townshend  were  to  assault  the 
walls  above.  The  garrison  was  in  no  condition  for 
defense.  Even  the  guns  could  not  be  trained  to  bear 
on  the  British.  With  the  two  forces  lining  up  to 
complete  the  ruin  of  the  town  and  to  cause  the 
deaths  of  many  wome.T  and  children,  Ramesay  had 
no  alternative.  So  he  ran  up  the  white  flag  and 
asked  for  a  parley.  There  was  some  objection  to 
his  terms,  es|)ecially  to  the  ibsurd  proposition  that 
the  garrison  should  be  allowed  to  join  Vaudreuil 
after  the  surrender.  Both  Ramesay  and  his  mes- 
senger, Johannes,  prolonged  the  negotiations  as 
long  .".=  they  could,  hoping  to  the  last  that  some 
tang.ble  evidence  of  the  approach  of  relief  could 
justify  them  in  breaking  oflf  the  parley.  But  at 
eleven  o'clock  that  night  Ramesay  had  to  agree 
.  to  capitulate  and  at  8  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
the  1 8th,  Saunders  and  Townshend  signed  the 
papers. 

Of  course  Vaudreuil  aflfected  astonishment  and 
wrote  Ramesay  that  such  a  precipitate  surrender 
had  surprised  the  whole  army.  Uvis  could  hardly 
pretend  to  such  feeling,  but.  of  course,  he  felt  in- 
e.Npre;.sibly  sadde.ied  and  heart-broken.  Such  an 
ojiportunity  woulu  otherwise  have  been  given  him  to 
win  great  laurels  by  saving  Quebec  and  at  least  stav- 
ing off  the  day  of  the  English  conquest.  But  he  was 
too  late. 

In  llic  afteriKwii  of  the  i8th,  Townshend  took 
formal  possession  of  Quebec.  At  4  P.  M.  the  Union 
Jack  was  tlung  out  over  the  city,  and  it  has 
546 


THE    FALL   or-    NEW  FRAN'CE 

never  been  lowered.  The  Frencl,  troops  ,narche<l 
o.it  «,th  all  the  honors  of  war,  and  four  days  L-ter 
were  sent  to  France  in  British  ships. 

ENCL.\ND    WILD    WITH    JOV 

When  the  news  of  the  surrender  reached  England  R.ioicin, 
Wr.ll'    T,  "f°"J'>°''^^  «^=n  as  it  mourned  for^    • 
y       ■  ?°"^"  '''"''''  """^  "^"^  '^"S  in  =>"  corners      """' 
o    the  rsland  except   in  the  village  of  Greenwich, 
where  all  sound  of  joy  was  hushed  in  sympathy  for 
the  sorrow  of  the  mof  :.  of  Wolfe.    Coming  a,  the 
v-ctory  dKl  only  a  short  time  after  the  dishea.tening 
.  e.spatch  of  U'olfe  which  seemed  to  mean  nothi,| 
but  failure,  the  reaction  was  overpowering.    Quebec 

and  U'Tf  '°  ^  ?^'"^''^  ''  absolutely  impregnable 
and  Wolfe  as  a  hapoy  accident  at  Louisbourg  who 
had  found  his  real  level  at  Quebec.    Aside  from  the 
surprise  of  this  news  of  ^■ictory  it  had  a  most  impor- 
tant significance  to  the  English  ,.opIe.     It  had  b^n  e.„u„. 
a  mo.st  anxious  .vear  for  them.     The  expectation  of  ""'^" 
invasion   from   France   was   not   absent   from   any ';";"" 
m.nd  during  all  that  time.     .Xmherst  checked  at 
Crown  Point,  W  olfe despairing  of  victory  at  Quebec 
and  the  terrible  disaster  to  Britain's  ally,  Frederick,' 
at   Kunersdorf,  these  made  the  nation   miserable. 
Wolfe  s  victory  at  Quebec  was  the  turning  of  the 

torvnf  n"r  "?'  ?""  "'■'"''^■^  ■■  S''^'  "-al  vic- 
tory of  Qu.bcron.  the  dissipation  of  the  danger  of  in- 
vasKMi  hrclerick's  improved  condition  in  ]-russia 
an.l  t  hvc  s  contmued  successes  in  India.  The  ,.\mer- 
■can  colonies  also  rejoiced  in  Quebec's  capture  and 
prou.  V,  for  they  had  contributed  3.000  'seamen  to 
Saunders  s  force.  Some,  hovever.  dearly  saw  as 
dH,  many  Englishmen,  that  this  event  meant  not 
547 


Murray 
left  in 
command 
at  Qutbcc 


France 
Rives  no 
bclp 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
closer  union  of  colony  to  mother  country,  but  a 
looser  bond.  France  received  the  news  lifjluly  The 
I  onipadour  told  Louis  that  he  might  now  sleep  well 
at  night,  an<l  Voltaire  gave  a  fete  to  celebrate  his 
country  s  "deliverance  from  a  vast  stretch  of  fro7en 
country." 

_    When    Wolfe's   l)ody   was   borne   home    in   the 
Koyal  Wilham,"  the  British  fleet  and  the  two  sen- 
ior generals,  Monckton  and  Townshend,  left  at  the 
same  time.     Murray  was  thus  left  in  command  at 
guebec  and  did  his  utmost  to  make  Ijearable  the  lot 
of  the  wretched  citizens  of  that  ruined  city  during 
that  terrible  winter  of  cold,  sickness,  and  famine. 
During  this  time  Levis  and  the  remnant  of  Mont- 
calm s  army  were  at  various  points  along  the  St 
Lawrence.    Amlierst,  on  Lake  Champlain.  completed 
his  fleet  111  October,  and  on  its  first  engagement 
with  the  French  Ixiats  van(|uished  them  completely. 
But  It  WPS  impossible  to  advance  farther  because  of 
Bourlamaciue's  strong  position,  in  which  he  had  l;een 
helped  by  Levis,  and  because  the  terms  of  some  of  the 
provincial  troops  expired  at  this  time.     So  Amherst 
and  the  bulk  of  his  army  retired  to  Albany  and 
Winter  closed  upon  the  whole  country. 

LEVIS'.S    ATTEMPT   TO    RETAKE    QUEBEC 

We  shall  hasten  on  in  our  narrative,  for  almost 
every  e\ent  was  merely  one  step  in  the  decline  of 
New  France.  It  seemed  not  iniiK>ssible  that  France 
might  send  over  reenforcemeius  to  Levis  and  win 
back  Quebec  and  with  it  control  of  all  Canada.  But 
France,  blind  to  the  value  of  this  great  empire,  sore 
at  her  liuropean  defeats,  and  trusting  to  restoration 
by  treaty,  let  New  France  go  to  its  fate.  Nor  would 
548 


iiLc  nv  Lt\i-. 
1720-1787 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

it  have  been  safe  for  her  to  try  to  send  ships  a-.ul 
troops  over  to  Canada  since  British  men-of-war 
guarded  practically  every  French  port.  But  Levis 
kept  up  a  stout  heart,  and  it  was  a  dull  week  at  Que- 
bec which  did  not  contain  a  rumor  that  Levis  was 
advancing  upon  the  city.  At  various  times  during 
the  winter  small  parties  of  French  and  Indians 
did  appear  near  Lorette  and  at  Point  Levy,  and  in 
January  a  sharp  engagement  occurred,  in  which  sev- 
eral men  on  each  si<le  were  killed. 
Liyapians  Levis  was  meanwhile  exerting  every  energy  to  get 
carmi,  together  an  army  to  retake  Quebec  in  the  spring. 
His  plans  were  carefully  laid  and  matured.  He  set 
out  on  April  17  with  7,260  men  and  marched  directly 
toward  Quebec.  He  was  accompanied  by  several 
French  vessels  with  stores  for  the  army.  All  along 
the  way  the  Canadians  joined  his  army,  so  that  by 
the  time  he  neared  Quebec  he  had  neariy  10,000 
men,  of  whom  about  3,500  were  French  regulars; 
Murray  felt  compelled  to  meet  him  on  the  open  and 
join  him  in  battle,  so  on  April  28,  1760  he  marched 
out  of  Quebec  with  3,000,  all  the  men  :  c  c.jiM  sparo 
after  leaving  a  beggarly  number  in  the  town.  To 
Adesperaw  this,  by  sicknc'^s  and  cold,  had  his  army  of  7000 

battle  St       I  ,,,,,,  J  /  > 

been  reduced,  liie  two  armies  met  on  the  plains 
near  Ste.  Foy  and  not  far  from  the  scene  of  Wolfe's 
battle,  and  a  desperate  engagement  followed.  The 
French  outnumbered  the  English  three  to  one,  and 
while  the  latter  had  more  artillery  they  could  not  use 
it  to  advantage  on  account  of  the  terrible  condition 
of  the  roads.  The  fighting  lasted  one  hour  and 
three-quarters,  and  the  result  was  an  overwhelming 
French  victory.  The  British  retreated  within  the 
walls  of  the  city  thoroughly  beaten  and  wondering 
550 


battle  at 
Ste.  Foy. 
Aiuil  38, 
1760 


THE   FALL  OF   VEW  FRANCE 
if  again  Quebec  was  not  destined  to  change  hands.  a„o.„. 
Lev.s  was  Wild  with  dcl.glit.    He  was  about  to  win  """^ 
where  Montcata  lost,  and  h,s  loyal  heart  beat  high  »■";;' 
with  ant.cii»tions  of  triumph  *or  himself  and  coiui- 
try     1  rue,  he  had  lost  about  1.500  men,  but  Murray 
liad  lost  one-third  of  his  army 

Levis  promptly  enveloped  Uie  cty  and  began  to 
prepare  for  a  regular  siege.     His  ships  came  down 
to  the  toulon,  and  he  was  fairly  well  provisioned 
and  equipped.    If  Levis  had  known  what  was  com- 
ing, lie  would  have  dared  an  assault,  and  in  tlie  crip- 
pled  condition  of  the  city  could  hardly  have  failed 
to  take  It.    iMurray  could  do  nothing  but  hope  for 
succor.    Surely  nothing  could  save  the  British  now 
but  a  miracle.  The  miracle  appeared.  On  May  9  a  shin 
arrived  m  the  harbor.     Uvis,  expecting  promised 
aid  trom  France,  assumcJ  that  it  was  French,  but 
when  It  arnved  to  straimng  eyes  the  Union  Jack 
appeared     But  Levis  was  not  discouraged  and  went  British 
on  with  his  siege  preparations.    A  week  later,  how-  "■''-»" 
ever,  three  more  British  men-of-war  reached  Quebec  ^""^ 
just  as  Levis  started  on  an  attack  which  would 
surely  have  captured  the  city.     The  news  almost 
crushed  him;  he  recalled  his  troops  at  once,  made 
all  his  plans  conform  to  the  news,  and  by  the  next  u,u 
morning  had  broken  camp  and  was  on  his  way  back  '""-m 
to  Montreal.  leaving  guns  and  stores  behind  him  in  """^' 
great  contusion.     His  ships  were  attacked  by  the 
British,  and,  although  gallantly  defended,  were  com- 
pelled to  stnke  their  colors.     The  British  squadron 
cleaned  the  River  and  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  of 
every  French  craft,  the  last  engagement  being  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Miramichi,   the  grandfather  of 
Lord  Byron  commanding  the  British  ship. 
551  Canada—  8  Vol.  II 


The  last 
campaign 


Brilisli 

an  Jill  sid 


TJire; 
armies 

Montri-ai 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Summer  was  now  at  hand,  and  the  final  massing 
of  the  Enghsh  against  the  French  began.     It  was 
m  three  sections.    The  chief  party  was  commanded 
by  /Vmherst,  who  was  to  lead  an  expedition  from 
Lake  Ontario.     He  had  left  the  Lake  Champlain 
campaign  in  the  hands  of  Haviland,  who  was  to 
drive  on  the  French  and  meet  Amherst  b-fore  Mon- 
treal, while  Murray  was  to  come  up  from  Quebec 
at  the  same  time,     .\miierst  had  10,000  men  under 
him  when  he  left  Oswego  on  the  91:1  of  August 
He  proceeded  without  \cry  great  resistance  until  he 
reached  Fort  Levis  under  I'ouchot  near  the  head 
^  of  the  Kapids.     Here  bombardment  took  place,  but 
tiie  garrison  was  finally  forced  ;o  surrender  its  384 
men  on  the  25th  of  August.    It  was  a  rather  ticklish 
midenaking  which  dieii  confronted  Amherst,  th?t  of 
running  the  now  familiar  Rapids  of  the  Thousand 
Islands  from  near  Ogden.slmrg  to  Montreal.     This 
trip  occupied  about  two  weeks,  and  while  he  lost 
nearly  100  men  and  about  fifty  boats  of  one  kmd  and 
another,  on  the  whole  the  venture  was  remarkably 
su-.jssful,  and  on  the  6th  of  Septenil)er  the  whole 
force  landed  at  Machine,  whe.-e  La  Salle's  seigniory 
had  been.     By  thai  time  Murray  am'  Haviland  had 
also  reached  the  vicinity  of  Montreal.    Murray  had 
httle  difficulty  on  liis  way  from  Quebec,  the  inhab- 
itants generally  submitting,  but  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Richelieu,  where  stood  and  stands  the  town  of  Sorel, 
he  defeated  an  armed  force  of  Canadians  under  Bour- 
laniaque.    Thi.',  f.jvvn  Murray  burned.    Haviland  had 
left  Crown  Point  on  the   i6th  of  August  and  on 
the  2ist  defeated  Bout^ainville  at  lle-aux-Noi.^  in 
a  short  skirmish,  the  Fre.ich  force  '"etreating  to  St. 
Johns  and  later  Montre.al.     When  the  tliree  B-tisli 
552 


THE  FALL   OF  NEW  FRANCE 
armies  had  got  topether  outsi,le  MontreaJ  they  com- 
Pr.sed  17,000  men.     Against  tl,em  Lcv.s  at  A^ 
trea  had  only  about  ..5CX)  men.    The  crisi^  t  New 
France  had  come  at  last  and  would  not  l,e  denieT 

"rto^'X^S '^^■^^^"^' '"'''' *'"™'''-- 

oJ'h!?'' !"*K  V'P'  '"'^•^•■'"^"'"S  tinie  for  Levis.  no„H„. 
On  h^  ^^ay  back  from  !„s  futile  attempt- to  recan- "■"•■™'"' 
tt.re  Ouel>ec  the  Canadians  had  descried  him  by '""'"" 
who  esale,  and  these  desertions  continued  .hr^,j,h. 

h"  '^ir'"™'-  7^'t  ^PP^'-"-='"«  of  Amherst  and 
h.s  great  army  took  the  heart  out  of  all  the  French 
roops  except  the  rcRtdars.    The  Canadian  militia 

Tlmo  'TT''  1"'"^'"'  '"'  '"  "'-  '""*  'l-^erted 

a  most  m  a  body.  Nearly  all  the  colonial  regulars 
d.d  the  same  and  even  a  few  of  the  French  regulars 
lett  the  service.  ° 

CAPITULATION- 

On  the  evening  of  September  6  a  coimcil  of  wir  wn,  ^       ■ 
heM  m  Montreal  and   the  desperate InditioVo;--/ 
affairs  thoroughly  discussed.    Bigot  was  in  favor  of 
.mmed,ate  surrer>der,  and  that  was  resolved  upon. 
Bougamville  was  sent  out  the  next  moniing  to  see 
what  terms  of  i^ace  could  be  sea.red.    He  had  taken 
with  h.m  a  long  document  which  Vaudreuil  had 
drawn  tip  containing  fifty-fi.e  articles  of  capitula- 
t.on.     Most  of  these  An,herst  approved,  but  h    t 
sertedh,s  clause:  "The  wh,>le  garrison  in  Montreal 
a..J  an  other  French  troops  in  Canada  must  lay 

preleVwTr."'"^  "'  '■^"  '■"'  ^^"'^  '"^'^  ^'' 

Vaud'puil's  article  was  that  the  troops  should 

march  out  w>th  arms,  cannon,  and  the  honors  of  war. 


Cai.ilula 


Levis':,  lia. 
ccmdiict 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
and  Amherst's  demand  was  tliouRlil  to  be  insultine 
to  a  fallen  enemy.     In  vain  was  Bongainville  sent 
aRam  to  Anilierst  to  remonstrate:  tla  Ilritisli  com- 
mander iNas  inllexiljle.     Tlien  Uvis  tric<l  Ins  hand 
writms  a  note  in   which  he  declared  that   for  his 
part  he  wouUl  not  ai^ree  to  sncli  a  ci|    idalion     To 
him  Amherst  replied  that  he  recognized  that   this 
capitulation  clause  was  luimiliatiiifi-,  l.tit  lie  was  de- 
termined 10  punish  the  French  in  this  way  for  their 
many  harharities  and  hreachcs  of  faith  during  the 
^  war.    On  the  ne.v  morning,  September  8,  Vaudreuil 
.,  (,'ave  way  and  signed  the  capitiilatiun.     By  the  terms 
of  this  .locnment  Cana.la  passed  uii.ler  control  of 
Great  Britain.    Free  exercise  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion  was  gnarantccd  under  certain  reservations 
and  the  religions  orders  were  assured  of  their  prop- 
erty  rights,  and  privileges.     There  was  to  \k  abso- 
Kitely  no  ch mge  i„  the  conduct  of  afifairs,  so  far  as 
It  wonld  aliect  the  people.     All  the  French  troops 
were  to  be  sent  home  in  British  ships. 
■'      Levis  continued  obstinate  to  the  last  and  made  a 
formal  protest  against  the  signing  of  the  capitula- 
tion   but  his  protest  was  disregarded,  and  with  his 
brother  officers   he   was  compelled   to  endure   t'le 
humiliating  experience  of  laying  down  arms      l!ut 
he  refused  to  -nnnder  the  colors,  declaring  that 
the  french  rer-wits  had  no  colors,  an.l  so  Amherst 
was  not  able  to  bear  home  with  him  the  French 
flags  in  triumph.     As  a  matter  of  i  ct,  I  .H-is  had 
actually  burned  all  the  colors  to  prevent  them  from 
being  snrreiKlered.     In  a   few   days  more  all   the 
French  troops  had   left   Montreal  as  prisoners  of 
war,  and  by  the  end  of  October  the  last  of  them 
had  sailed   from  Quebec.     The  American  militia 

554 


THE   FALL  OF   NEW  FRANCE 
j-.nd  most  of  the  British  troops,  also,  sa.le.1  for  liome,  R.wci„, 
leaving  sufficient  g^arrisons  at  Montreal,  Quebec  and  '"  ■■•"«'""■' 
other  ix)ints.    Tlie  news  of  the  surrender,  almost  ex-  Tlric. 
actly  one  year  .ifter  the  battle  of  the  Plains,  caused 
great  rejoic;ng  throughout  England  and  the  Amer- 
ican colonies.    There  was  a  great  parade  in  the 
city  of  Boston,  accompanied  by  a  grand  dinner  in 
I-aneuil  Hall,  b<.nfires,  and  illuminations  of  vari<jus 
kinds.     Other    Mnerican  cities  similarly  rejoiced 

The  return  of  tlie  I'-rench  officers  to  their  native  n.w 
land  w.is  as  tenii)estuous  as  the  life  of  the  colony ''"""'' 
had   been.     Storms   hindered   the   progress  of   tlie'"'"' 
ships,  .ind  some  of  them  were  even  wrecked.    The 
civil  officers  or  the  government  of  New  France,  on 
arriving  home,  were  at  once  arreste<l  and  thrown 
mto  the  Bastile.     Chief  of  these  were,  of  course 
Vaudreuil.   Bigot.  Pean,  and  Cadet.     Tlie  charge 
against  them  was  defrauding  New  France,  a  charge 
of  which  they  were  all,  except  possibly  Vaudreuil 
undoubtedly  guilty.    It  was  a  radical  change  for  this  r,..f,  „„ 
band  ot  plunderers  to  be  coi.ined  to  that  prison  for '"  "*«'J 
several  months  after  having  lived  so  gorgeously  off 
the  bounty  of  die  King  and  the  labor  of  the  poor 
people  of  Canada,  whom  they  were  ordered  to  guard 
and  protect.    It  was  not  until  December  of  the  next 
year.  i;6i.  that  the  tria,  began.    Cadet,  we  remem- 
ber, was  a  sort  of  quartermaster  or  commissary-gen- 
eral, who  made  his  way  from  the  lowest  ranks  tu 
the  higliest  by  the  exercise  oi  tremendous  ei.ergy 
audacity,  and  cornipt.,.,,.    Vaudreuil  was  at  last  ac-  mg.t 
quitted.    Bigot  and  Cadet  were  found  guilty     Bigot  '••'""'"■i 
was  banished  from  France  fur  life,  his  property  was :"„!,;;"„";;' 
confiscated,  and  he  was  forced  to  pay   i  500  coo  ""J » >"" 

francs  to  the  Crown.    Cadet  was  banished  'for  nme ' 

555 


francs 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2| 


^     ^IPPLIED  ItVMGE     In 


1  *609        LI5A 


The  ciinr- 
ack-r  of 
Vainlifiiil 


rni-    TERCE.\-TEN-ARY    HISTORY    OF    CAXADA 
years  and  ordered  to  pay  back  six  million  francs 
There  were  twenty-one  persons  on  trial,  of  whom 
ten  were  condemned. 

Of  the  after  history  of  these  scoundrels  we  know 
.ttle  and  we  care  less.     History  has  hitherto  ,lealt 
too  gently  wnh  Vaudrenil,     It  is  impossible  for  ns 
however,  to  <lismiss  him  without  pronouncing-  upon 
'""'  <■  'lanuung  judgment.    His  boastfuluess  an<l  his 
egotism  were,  of  course,  insufierable.  but  his  lyinc. 
vihfvniff.  and  slandering  of  Montcalm,  and  the  un- 
der-uid,   despicable  means  which  he  took  to  dis- 
credit his  rival,  are  beneath  our  comempt.     As  if 
that  were  not  enough,  howe^•er.  the  man  did  not  stop 
N  ith  the  martyrdom  of  Montcalm.    After  that  great 
hero  s  death  lie  lied  about  him  and  vilified  him  in  his 
etters   o  the  home  Government  in  order  .o  cover  up 
the  faults  and  miserable  pretensions  of  t.  ^  ignoble 
pusillanimous  imj.oster  that  he  was.   Vaudreuil  ma^ 
not  have  been  a  thief  like  Bigot  and  Cadet.    If  not  it 
was  because  he  lacked  their  courage  and  audacity; 
but  m  the  eyes  of  all  honest  men  a  liar  and  a  slanderer 
IS  worse  than  any  mere  thief,  however  magnificent. 
The  story  of  the  fall  of  New  France  i^  one  of 
which  no   reader  can  ever  tire.     Undoubtedly   its 
crowning  figure  is  Montcalm,  one  of  the  ver^-  few 
eaders  sent  out  from  France  who  was  honest  and 
true  and  great.    Every  one  who  reads  that  story  and 
wandering  about  Quebec,  sees  that  marble  tablet  in 
.h=wo„d-,  ',7  V""'!"'^  «'"^-e"t.  can  not  help  a  sigh  because 
Montcalm  s  cause  was  lost.     He  did  so  deserve  to 
win.    As  Howells  makes  his  heroine  in  "A  Chance 
Acquaintance;'  say,  "I  belong  to  the  French  side, 
pease,    in    Quebec."     \\V  never  quite  cease,  like 
cJuldren,  to  whimper  at  Fate  because  she  put  into 
556 


MontcaliT 


THE  FALL  OF   NEW  FRAXCE 
this  story  a  hero  on  each  side-aud  such  a  h.ro !    If 
only  there  had  heen  no  Montcalm,  hut  Vaudreui 
or  B,got  had  heen  in  con,n,and  of  the  French   w," 
how  much  promptness  and  satisfaction  we  shou  d 
have  hailed  the  result' 

getne.   Dan,sli  that  feehn^  ol  sympathy,  yet  facts  ■'"»« '=" 
nves    the  cause  with  a  different-aspect."^  Mont  an 
fadecl  not  so  much  because  of  what  the  En^li  h  d id 
as  because  o    what  his  own  count,Tmen  Id      He 
stands  g:,ant-l,ke  because  his  own  companions  wer 
so  low.     France  had  been  rotten  an<l  corrupt   and 

friucl  Ve    r    """'"-}'  ''''  '^«"  ■■oneycombe':  \v   ,t 
fraud,  deceit,  hypocri.sy.  wholesale  j^raft,  and  thie 
mg  for  a  century     No  one  man,  even  endowc        h 
genius,  could  purify  and  make  clean  that  awful  ^^r 
bage  mass.     New  France  was  totterinjr  to  it     hi 
^^'^1en  Montcalm  arrived,  and  while  his^eni       h 
produce  wonderful  victories  at  Osweijo  fnd  Ticon 
derog:a,  yet  he  could  not  lead  that  decayi  .  bX 
jnto  a  great  conflict.    Right  in  the  heart  o      fe   om"^ 

tl    'I'ife  of  7'  r™"'  Y'^"  "=  ^^•'-  '^so-^rfor 
the  life  of  Xew  France,  his  companions  were  stab 
bmg  Inm  and  weakening  him  at  vital  poin  s     No- 
New  France  could  not  win.     For  two  cent  ries°; 

ie«er    c  "    '"7  °'  ""  '''''^"''-  '^™  ''    ad   he 
better  scheme  of  empire,  hut  when  Great  Britain  at 
last  awoke  and  the  American  colonies  saw  te  per 
before  them,  their  power  and  overwhelming  num 
bers  scattered  the  rotting  ren.ains  of  a  gre  t  fn  pTe 
To  paraphrase  Hugo  on  Waterloo,  n4  France  did  ■  o 
not  fit  in  with  the  eighteenth  centu        ft  Tl     S" 
on  account  of  Montcalm  or  Wolfe  or  Vaudreud 
but  on  account  of  God.  vauareuil, 

557 


:count  c 
'■  God" 


CHAPTER  XXX 


CANADA    UNDER    THE   BRITISH 


>tllitary 
govern- 
ment 


Q  AN  ADA  was  now  British,  at  least  until  the  con- 
'^cius.onof  peaceby  treaty,  and  a  military  govern- 
ment was  set  up.     Under  it  Canada  was  governed 

of  the  ZT  '''?~^°  ^''"'y-  "''''"'  '^'-.t  n,any 
of  the  difficulties  and  estrangements  of  the  next  cen- 
tury would  have  been  sensibly  decreased  if  the  civil 
government  which  followed  the  military  had  been  as 
wise  and  careful  Amherst,  who  was'^^n  comi^d 
of  all  the  Bnfsh  forces  in  America,  divided  Canada 
mto  three  districts,  Quebec,  Montreal,  and  Three 
Rivers  with  general  headquarters  at  Quebec,  of 
which  Murray  had  charge.  Gage  was  stationed  a 
Montreal  and  Burton  at  Three  Rivers.  Students  of 
government  lay  stress  upon  the  impartiality  with 
which  the  British  officers  dispensed  justice  in  th^e 

lV.:t.  ''y^  "'•'""•    ''^'''  ""^'  of'^ourse.'no  c"  il  court! 
io,po„.n,    and  no  juries,  the  army  officers  at  each  post  consti- 

take"n^o^'"'  ffi  ■'"''"'  ^"""'^  '"''"''  ^PP""'  «'^ht  be 
taken  to  the  officer  in  command  of  the  district  and 

to  the  commander-in-chief.  The  average  reader  in 
a  comfortable  home  and  in  quiet,  well-governed  com- 
munities can  not  understand  the  immense  amount 
of  emphasis  historians  lay  upon  the  judicial  system 
Zr^u'  f  ""'"f  '°"""-'«.  and  they  are  likely  to  be 
bored  by  long  descriptions  of  the  system  of  gov- 
558 


CANADA    UNDER   THE   BRITISH 

ernment  and  justice      Vpt  ii-„o  i,-  ^     • 

elide  this  CesiH^^^ir-,"^-  - 

.ng  to  present  a  faithful  picture  of  the  ttn  T 
Throughout  the   wliole  French   re^imo  fL 
sions  of  the  council  at  Quebec  and  ZT  '^'■"f"'r 

(.1.  T  .      ,  v^ucoec  ana  tne  decisions  nf  ™'' 

he  Intendant  were  of  utmost  importance  no"  onlv""""'" 
to  the  dignitaries  and  attorneys    but  to  the  ^r^ 


estates  and  personal  liabilities  in 


a  new  country  are 


I  '         -""'.ii.li,.'>  m  a  new 

SS  th"m  "?:'"'  ■"""  '""  P»"W  »<!  .1." 
pleased  them.    These  points  are  made  at  this  time 

njortal  "Wonderful  One-Hoss  Shay  '' die  1  o?  a  ^ 
Plexy  on  October  25,  ,760.     Owing  to  the  b  wo; 
succession  it  ^vn.  inevitable  that  th!  Ki^gl  eM« 
grandson   should   succeed    him      For  thlV 
;l>e  cleath  of  the  King  was  mourned  i     En^rd" 

Vic        the^K^   "'   '"■""   ^'^"^'^^  -''   --S  i  y 
vices,    the    King   was    not    nf    -,    *  r      '"v 

Englishmen  are^prou  .     But     e  wasTeall!  h   '"'; 

at  heart  and  unselfish,  and  the  oWer     e  ''rew",t 

more    enlightened   he   became.      Overlonci   J  hi's 

559 


George  III 

angers  hit 
people 


THE  TERCENTENAkY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
'German  hive,"  to  be  sure,  he  was  so  because  of 
natural  yearnings  and  because  he  beheved  England's 
and  Germany's  future  should  be  to  some  extent 
blended.  The  English  public  were  tired  enough  of 
their  sovereign's  pro-German  bias,  but  they  were  in 
no  sense  pr- pared  for  the  opposite  tack  which  was 
taken  by  t,  c  new  King.  Especially  were  thev 
shocked  and  outraged  by  George  III  s  proposal  to 
Jet  Frederick,  England's  ally,  get  himself  out  of 
his  diftculties  as  well  as  he  could  and  without  Eng- 
land s  help.  The  people  of  Great  Britain  are  honest 
to  the  -ore,  and  they  regarded  the  King's  prn,x>si- 
tion  as  most  dishonorable  and  impossible.  On  this 
point  came  the  clash  with  Pitt. 

r'^gaation  ^  '^■'^.V''^"  '"^'"8^  ''■'"^'^'^  ^t  once  to  make  a  peace. 
So  <hd  Pitt.     But  the  King  proposed  that  in  the 
peace  negotiations  England  deal  with  France  alone 
leaving   Germany   out   of   the   aflfair.      Pitt   stood 
aghast  at  tlie  suggestion,  and  when  the  King  per- 
sisted and  other  troubles  arose,  he  resigned.   But  peace 
did  not  come  after  all.    A  family    ampact  had  been 
arranged  between  Spain  and  France,  by  virtue  of 
which   if  peace   were  not  soon   arrang^  between 
Fraiice  and  England.  Spain  should  assist  France 
And  although  negotiations  for  peace  had  long  been 
under  way  Spam  was  so  anxious  to  get  England  in- 
volved that  her  Ambassador  to  England  grew  offen- 
sive, provoking  his  dismissal  ami  a  declaration  of 
war  against  Spain  as  essential  to  England's  pride. 
This  was  made  in  January,    1762,  and  the  King 
and  his  new  favorite,  the  sycophantic  Bute,  found 
themselves  engaged  in  war  after  all.     British  arms 
continued  to  gain  successes.    Martinique  was  taken 
in  l-ebruarj'  and,  most  important  of  all,  Havana  was 
560 


Spain  in 
war  with 
England 


Over. 
w)ielmiD|[ 

Hntish 
victories 


CANADA  UNDER  THE  BRITISH 
captured  in  August  after  a  k.ng  campaiK,.  m  which 
10,000  men  and  nineteen  ships  uf  war  were  e.uraeed 
Frederick  of  Prussia  nu  longer  received  his  subsidy 
from  England  and  almost  lost  courage,  hut  tii'e 
death  of  the  sovereign  of  Russia  place.l  Catherine 
h.s  friend,  on  the  throne.  France  sent  an  ex,K.dition 
to  Newfoundland  which  occupied  the  island  alx^ut 
SIX  months,  but  tlie  English  at  length  drove  the 
rrench  away. 

THE   TREATY   OF    PEACE 

By  autumn  France  was  gind  to  cry  enough  .-md  to 
entertain  suggestions  for  a  treaty  of  peace.^  England 
was  wilhng  and  the  preliminaries  were  signe.i  on 
November  3,  1762.  Before  the  treaty  coulc!  be  per- 
rnanent  ,ts  preliminaries  had  to  be  assented  to  by 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  because  of  much  op- 
position to  US  terms  there  was  resort  to  bribery. 
Bute  handled  the  corruption  fund,  and  we  have 
his  secretary's  word  for  it  that  £80,000  of  the 
King  s  money  was  expended  in  this  wav  It  was 
historv   ^'"^  '■'°"  ^'■'^•■'''^^f"'  'Episodes  in  English 

FeJruarr/o'  7,6^  "''  "'^"''1'''"'  ''""' '"'°  effect  t„.,™.„ 
reoruary  10,  1763,  was  most  favorable  to  Enirlish '»™"''" 
claims.     Great  Britain  obtained  Canada  and  Cape'"'""'" 
Breton,  the  West  India  islands  of  Saint  VinceT 

i  Tcr*  Y^^"  "?'  ^""'''"''''  ■?"'  '^-'^  Minorca 
and  acquired  Senegal.     Because  of  the  capture  of 

the  hll!:'       \]  rr-^'',"^  '^''^  "°'  ^^•^'"  ^"''  Spain  did, 
the  la  ter  ceded  Florida  to  fireat  Britain  and  to  conv 

t'o  So  In  .      ','"*■  "'"  '°"  ''""^^  ^''-^  Louisiana 

to  Spam,  thus  disposing  by  one  stroke  of  the  pen  of 

all  french  possessions  on  the  mainland  of  North 

561 


Many 
Canadians 
return  to 
France 


The  new 
Uritish 
Province 
handi- 
capped 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

America.  It  \v:.s  during  this  war  that  the  Eiifrhsli 
captured  the  Philippines,  but  soon  returned  tliei  :  to 
Spain. 

THE    FRENCH    REPATRI.xTION 

Curiously  enough  there  is  much  doubt  as  to  the 
number  of  Frenchmen  who  returned  to  France.  Tlie 
records  are  provokingly  indefinite  on  the  subject, 
.'smherst  makes  no  mention  of  nny  great  repatriation 
of  Frenchmen  after  the  fall  of  Montreal,  nor  is  there 
any  reference  to  it  in  official  records  after  the  treaty 
of  peace  was  signed.    Howe\er,  there  is  little  doubt 
that  a  lari;<-  number  of  Canadians  of  French  birth 
did    return   to   France  about   that   time— 1761-64. 
Whether  this  nnml>er  was  as  large  as  twenty-five 
per  cent,  as  Dr.  .Mum-  estimates  it,'  is  debatable. 
There  were  but  70.000  people  in  Canada  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  and  the  return  of  18,000  people 
seems  most  unlikely,  especially  since  such  a  large 
migration  would  certainly  have  been  recorded  both 
in  Canada  and  in  New  York  and  New  England. 
However,  the  loss  was  considerable,  and  while  many 
of  those  who  went  away  from  Canada  could  well 
have  been  spared,  yet  on  the  whole,  this  body  was 
composed  largely  of  wealthy  traders  and  merchants 
and   landowners,   whose  capital  and   energy  were 
sorely  needed  in  Canada  at  that  time.     Canada  a 
a  British  province  was  thus  entering  into  a  race  with 
the  British  provinces  to  the  south  under  a  tremen- 
dous handicap.     Assuming  that  there  were  60.000 
people  in  C:  lada  after  the  exodus,  there  were  in  the 
other  English  colonies  over  i  ,000,000  people.    The 
disproportion  was  startling,  and  the  French  Cana- 


"Canada  and  British  North  America,' 
562 


by  W.  B.  Munro. 


Canada's 

pro(;rcs<i 
remarkable 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
dians  seemed  to  realize  (lieir  weakness,  rii  spite  of 
tlie  assurances  of  the  Uritisli,  a  large  part  of  the  iii- 
habita!its  of  Canada  stood  in  fear  of  their  conquer- 
ors. They  were  afraid  that  not  only  their  proiwrty 
but  also  tlieir  religion  was  in  jeonardv.  So  the  at- 
titude of  the  whole  people  lackc.l  confidence  and 
energy.  The  progress  which  Canada  has  made  since 
tliat  time  has  hcen,  in  the  circumstances,  mo  ■  won- 
derful and  creditable  than  even  that  of  the  United 
States. 

PONTIAC'S    REBELtlON 

'".t"'      '^'='^°'"^  British  Canada  was  really  established  the 
British  ru.,  new  colony  was  threatened  with  disintegration  from 
the   west.     In  the   future  there  were  to  be  many 
troubles  from  within.     Tlie  first  trouble  was  from 
without.     There  was  a  chief  of  the  Ottawas  called 
Pontiac,  who.  from  the  first,  exhibited  a  spirit  of 
defiance  to  British  authority.     The  Ottawas  about 
this  time  were  undoubtedly  the  strongest  of  all  the 
Western  trilies.    They  occupied  the  territory  north- 
west of  Detroit,  which  had  become  the  principal  fort 
of  the  liritish  in  the  West.    Even  when  the  expedition 
which  took  over  the  control  of  these  Western  forts 
from  the  French  was  on  its  way  to  Detroit  soon 
after  the  capitulation  in   1760  its  leader  found  a 
rebellious  spirit  among  all  the  chiefs  of  tribes  for- 
merly allied  with  the  French.    This  feeling  was  only 
natural,  but  it  seems  to  have  grown  and  its  growth 
must  be  to  some  extent  ascribed  to  the  lack  of  tact 
on    the   part   of    the    British    officers.     They    had 
none  of  the  French  savoir  fairc,  nor,  indeed,  were 
they  disposed  to  be  sufficiently  conciliatory.    Pontiac 
is  said  also  to  have   felt  personal  ill-will  toward 


L>ck 
of  tact 


CANADA    UNDER   THE    BRITISH 
Major  Gladwin,  the  British  commander  of  Det.oit.A 
Ihe  Ottawa  chief  beheved  that  by  stimulati  le  and ''"°""^''" 
directing  the  general  feehng  of  dishke  of  th.      itish  """" 
wh.cli  prevailed  in  the  Northwest,  he  nridit  o'    iinize 
such  a  formidable  revolt  as  to  obtain  control  of  all 
that   region   west  of  Niagara.     His  influence  un- 
doubtedly exte.ided  over  the  Hurons,  Sacs,  Ottiga- 
mies.  Pottawattamios,  Ojibways  and  Wyandots  as 
well  as  the  Uelawares  and  Shawi.noes.     Even  the 
benecas  of  the  Iroquois  became  to  some  extent  allied 
with  him     In  fact,  this     as  the  most  Tormidable 
alliance  of  the  Indians  of  the  country  against  the 
white  man  since  America  was  discovered. 

Undoubtedly  this  insurrection  was  stimulated  by 
the  I'rench  fur  traders,  who  hoped  in  some  way  to 
reap  profit  for  themselves  and  who  had  not  yet  de- 
spaired of  seeing  Canada  again  a  French  province, 
ihe  chief  point  of  attack  was  Detroit.  The  design 
was  that  this  post  and  the  other  English  posts  and 
the  English  settlements  of  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania should  be  attacked  on  the  7th  of  M~  ■ 
1763.  Pontiac  took  upon  himself  the  capture  of 
Detroit. 

This  whole  movement  has  been  called  "the  con-  xh. 
spiracy   of  Pontiac,"   and   while   the  e.xistence   of""'"'"'^'' 
conspiracy  has  been  doubted  by  some  historians  the""""" 
phrase  is  probably  a  true  one.    But,  as  i;   Jmos't  all 
conspiracies,  there  was  a  traitor.    Venus  became  in- 
volved with  Mars.    A  young  Ottawa  squaw,  who  is 
said  to  have  been  in  love  with  one  of  the  officers  of 
the  Bntish  garrison  in  Detroit,  perhaps  Major  Glad- 
win himself,  revealed  the  plot  to  the  commandant, 
vvhen  the  morning  of  the  7th  came,  Pontiac  went  to 
the  fort  with  a  number  of  his  chiefs  on  the  pretense 


coup 
■poliett 


Lxcroue 
u  an  open 


THE    TERCK.NTE.VARY    HISTORY    OF    CAN'ADA 

'  "!/;'='';"«;■'  ™"f'--">Ke  regarding  provisions  for 
the  fort.  Ln.ler  <he  blanket  of  each  of  the  savages 
was  conceale,!  a  .short-barreled  nuisket.  Ordinarily 
the  soldiers  would  have  been  unprepared  for  attack 
nnd  the  reds  would  have  been  uelo„ne,l  wi, lout 
st.sp,c,on,  but  that  morning  on  the  entrance  of 
Pontiac  and  his  companions  they  saw  the  entire  ^ar- 

ttubabihty  characteristic  of  the  redskin,  Pontiac 
showed  no  <liscomfiture  whatever,  transacted  his 
Inismcss  w.th  directness,  and  then  withdrew  There 
js  a  story  that  during  the  conference  Gla.lwin  threw 
back  the  chief  s  blanket,  disclosing  the  musket,  but 
the  credibility  of  thi.s  story  is  questioned.  The  next 
morning  when  Pontiac  presented  himself  at  the  eate 
for  entrance  he  was  ordered  away,  and  then  he 
knew  that  his  designs  were  fathomed.  He  at  once 
began  to  lay  siege  to  Detroit. 

In  the  niean  time  many  other  posts  had  been  taken 
bv  the  Indians.  The  English  settler,  in  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania  were  again  subjected  to  a  scourge 
hke  that  of  i;53.  The  capture  of  Michilimackinac 
was  effected  by  a  strategem  almost  worthy  of  the 
wooden  horse  of  the  Trojans.  The  Indians  of  the 
Chippewa  trilx;  prepared  for  a  game  of  lacrosse  just 

mv.ted.  While  the  game  was  going  on  and  the  at- 
tention of  the  garrison  was  attracted  elsewhere  a 
number  of  squaws  entered,  one  by  one,  through  the 
unguarded  gate  of  the  fort.  Soon  the  ball  was 
carried  down  the  field  toward  that  gate.  After  it 
rushed  the  whole  troop  of  savages.  When  they 
reached  the  gate  they  poured  in  v,-here  the  squaws 
awaited  them  with  tomahawks  which  they  had  coii- 
566 


CANADA    UNDER   THE   BRITISfl 
cealed  under  their  .Iresses.     With  these  tomahawks 
the  savngrs  ,n  a  few  minutes  captured  or  slew  the 
entire  garrison. 

THE   SIEGE    OF    DliTROIT 

Meanwhile  Pontiac  was  pressing  the  siege  of  Dc-  a  „,„ 
troit  with  all  i>ossible  vigor.  Settlements  nearby""""" 
were  surprised,  burned,  .-.n.l  ninny  of  the.r  inhabit 
ams  scalped  .V  reign  of  terror  came  to  the  region 
which  had  been  for  almost  a  century  peaceful  and 
quiet.  The  position  of  Detroit,  however  was  at  no 
tune  desperate.  The  garrisoi.  had  in  their  pos.sessioo 
a  small  armed  vessel  with  which  they  kept  llic  sav- 
ages at  a  distance  and  were  also  able  to  maintain 
communication  with  the  outside  world  and  get  SUD- 
phcs  from  the  woods  and  the  lake. 

All  the  tiine   naturally,  their  eyes  were  turned  to 

st.l    safe,     That  was  Niagara.     Strong  enough  to 
beat  back  the  savages,  it  was  really  quite  weak.    Yet  t^.,„,  „ 
early  in  the  summer  it  contrived  to  send  two  cxpedi  """' 
tions  toward  Detroit.     The  first,  under  LieuJenant '""°" 
i-uyler,  was  overwhelmingly  defeated  by  P(,ntiac 
near  Detroit      The  second,  under  Dalzell,  reacued 
Detroit   safely  and  encouraged  the  garrison  very 
much.     But  Dalzell  induced  Gladwii,  to  .tterZTl 
sortie  which  proved  an  utter  failure.    It  was  over  a 
year  before  Detroit  saw  another  relief  expedition 
and  many  times  the  garrison  was  almost  in  despair, 
rontiac  all  this  time  kept  up  the  siege  in  a  sorVof 

ay.    During  the  winter,  to  be  sure,  he  retired  from 
tlie  neighborhood,  leaving  only  a  few  men  to  keep 

force.    From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  siegl 
567 


A  long 
siege 


Fort  Pitt 
baffles  the 
savaf^es 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
^/as  the  astonishing  time  of  fifteen  months,  the  long- 
est t,me,  so    ar  as  I  can  learn,  that  aay  band  of 
savages  ever  kept  to  one  purpose  in  all  the  history 
?or  hnnl  ""^  Undoubtedly,  had  it  not  been 

under  '"        "'*'  °^"°''  '^°"'''  ^^"^  Sone 

In  the  east,  usmg  that  term  relatively,  the  strong 
B nt.sh  post  was  Fort  Pitt,  the  sit.  of  Fort  Duquesne 
whereP,ttsb„rg„owsta„ds.    The  commandant  there,' 
Laptani  Ecuyer,  was  of  the  right  stuff.     With  his 
3SO  men  he  made  a  resistance  so  stout  and  energetic 
hat  the  vast  hordes  of  Delawares  who  rushed  upon 
t  day  and  n.ght  for  five  days  were  at  last  compelled 
to  g,ve  u;,  and  retreat.     They  did   not,  however, 
abandon  the,r  purpose,  but  continued  to  make  occa- 
su^nal  attacks  upon  the  fort  a..d  kept  a  close  watdi 
that  no  rehef  should  reach  it  from  without.     But  a 
rehef  expedition  was  soon  headed  that  way     It  was 
commanded  by  Colonel  Henry  Bouquet,  of  s2l 
extracfon,  who  had  served  in  wars  for  Holland  Ind 
came  to  America  in  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  regi- 
Pu]    ,'",  i?5S.     Colonel  Bouquet  was  stationed  at 
Philadelphia  when  the  order  came  to  him  to  march 
o  the  rehef  of  Fort  Pitt.     Amherst  had  directed 
tha  the  colonies  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
and,  Virginia,  and  Connecticu;  assist  with  troops  in 
this  expedition.     But  with  the  exception  of  Virginia 
they  all  made  excuses.    On  the  part  of  Pennsylvania 
this  was  unpardonable.  Those  Quakers  and  Germans 
actually  refused  to  furnish  tlie  men  and  money  with 
which  to  defend  their  own  borders  from  attack  and 
their  citizens'  homes  and  lives  from  ruin.     It  will 
be  well  to  remember  these  facts  when  one  considers 
the  abuses  heaped  later  upon  England  by  these  same 
568 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

colonies.    Pennsylvania  and  the  other  colonies  made 
up  their  minds,  apparently,  that  it  was  England's 
duty  to  protect  them  and  that  England  was  abund- 
antly able  to  pay  for  this  work.    Bouquet  at  length 
set  out  with  the  Virginians  and  two  regiments  of 
regxilars,  and  he  reached  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Pitt 
T^e  bioodr  about  the  middle  of  August.    The  Delaware,  hear- 
Buih,  Run  '"S  of  his  approach,  set  out  to  meet  him,  and  the 
resulting  battle  took  place  on  August  i6th  at  Bushy 
Run,  in  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  about 
sixty  rniles  from  Fort  Pitt.     It  was  a  most  des- 
perate and  bitterly  fought  contest.     Bouquet  was 
compelled  to  fight  around  his  convoy  of  supplies  and 
to  endure  one  of  the  fiercest  attacks  ever  made  by 
Indians.     For  one  whole  day  and  part  of  the  next 
the  battle  raged,  when,  by  strategy,  the  Delawares 
were  lured  into  a  movement  consisting  of  a  feigned 
retreat,  and  after  a  few  minutes'  hot  fighting  were 
surrounded  and  put  to  flight.    After  that  contest  and 
the  relief  of  Fort  Pitt,  the  power  of  Pontiac  and  his 
allies  steadily  waned.    Many  of  the  Indians  deserted 
his  standard,  and  he  was  unable  to  present  a  front 
against  the  expedition  which  in  the  summer  of  the 
next  year  was  sent  out  to  relieve  Detroit. 

That  expedition  consisted  of  about  1,200  men,  reg- 
ulars and  Massachusetts,  New  York  and  Connectiait 
militia,  under  Colonel  John  Bradstreet,  who  was  to 
dim  ihe  lustre  which  he  had  gained  in  the  Ticon- 
deroga  and  Fort  Frontenac  campaigns  of  the 
"French  -nd  Indian  War."  Bradstreet  proceeded 
as  if  he  had  full  powers  to  make  peace  and  settle  all 
the  details  of  negotiations,  while  as  a  matter  of  fact 
his  only  errand  was  to  relieve  Detroit.  He  actually 
made  a  sort  of  peace  agreement  with  some  of  Pon- 
570 


find- 

street'g 

falliire 


CANADA   UNDER   THE   BRITISH 

bandusky  and  he  sent  one  of  his  men  into  the  Illi--^'" 
nois  country  to  nrnr\iim  fi,.  ■  without 

morp  =i^,7  •     P'^°^'^""  *e  peace  and  to  secure  ^thon,, 

>[  u^.  °"^'  '°  "•    This  man  narrowly  escaned 
a"S  Br  "  :■  '".VV^^'  "^^'■^^  Detroi:  ?ome   fmJ 

Pitnl'  T?  "T  fT''''  ''^''  ^''■>««'  f™m  Fort 
^.tt  mto  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  engaged 

n  a  pumt,ye  expedition  and  with  authority  to'^giye 

the  terms  upon  wh.ch  peace  could  be  made     C 

quet  was  Bradstreefs  superior  and   w^s  thunder 

struck  when  he  heard  of  the  latter's  work      Na  ' 

urally,  the  Indians  pretended  to  be  confused  hv.t, 

confl,cting  attitude  of  the  two  Brl^^sh  of^    Js  '  bJ: 

they  knew  that  Bouquet  had  authority  and  al  houet 

s'de:r"ti: '"'■';  ^°""'^^  '-""^  sur'roundeToS 
sides  by  the  greatest  perils,  that,  too,  in  a  coun 

r     «"'r'  Ohio)   into  which  an  army  lad  neyer" 
penetrated   he  kept  up  a  braye  front  and  a  sey  re 
atftude  and  won  his  case.    Meanwhile,  he  sent  word  ,■   r- 
to  Bradstreet  to  join  him      R„f  R.    i  T  ^^ord  Lo„a,«,„j 

tail     -.^A     1     J-  '  ""'  oradstreet  turned"""'"" 

tad.   and   pleadmg   the   necessity  of   returnm^r   tn'r'™' 

he  arrangements.  Bouquet  was  able  not  only  to  n 
force  peace  but  also  to  secure  the  release  ofVlarge" 
number  of  prisoners.  The  peace  which  lie  really  1 
augurated  was  confirmed  h  a  small  party  lecl  by  an 
officer  named  Croghan.  who  went  intoThe  Ihnois 
country  and  brought  several  prominent  hfef  y't 
•"-  to  Detroit.     There  Sir  ^Villiam  Johnson  3 

5." 


'Lcii 


Peace 

treaty 
signed, 
August, 
1765 


Botiquet's 
honors  and 
death 


TERCENTENARY   tiSTORY    OF    CANADA 

arrived  with  full  powers,  and  there  Pontiac  .-uid  the 
other  chiefs  signed  a  treaty  of  peace  in  Au^st, 
1765,  which  bound  to  the  British  cause  all  the  tribes 
of  the  Great  West  as  it  was  then  known.  Pontiac 
ought  to  have  been  hanged,  but  he  met  his  deserved 
fate  a  few  years  later  when  he  was  assassinated  by 
another  savage  in  the  woods  near  Cahokia,  on  the 
Mississippi. 

To  Bouquet,  Great  Britain  and  the  English  colo- 
nists had  great  cause  to  be  grateful  for  a  very  im- 
portant work  at  a  critical  time.  On  his  return 
from  the  West  he  was  honored  by  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  had  so  meanly  treated  him  and 
his  cause,  and  was  also  promoted  to  be  a  brigadier 
general  in  the  British  army.  He  was  then  assigned 
to  the  command  of  Florida,  and  died  in  Pensacola 
a  few  years  later.  Rumor  had  him  broken-hearted 
over  an  unsuccessful  love  affair  while  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  thi  may  have  contributed  to  his  early 
death  at  the  age  of  forty-five,  but  fever  is  the  prosaic 
term  given  for  his  complaint. 

CANADA   UNDER   MURRAY'S   REGIME 

While  t'le  suppression  of  this  Indian  insurrection 
was  going  on,  important  changes  were  occurring  in 
the  Administration  of  Canada.  General  Amherst 
had  grown  tired  of  his  command  in  America  and 
asked  to  be  relieved.  It  is  said  by  his  intimates  that 
he  foresaw  the  ugly  reljcUion  that  was  coming  and 
wished  to  be  well  out  of  it.  .n  1763  he  was  ordered 
home,  and  Gage  succeeded  him,  with  heatlquarters  in 
M'u"rJIy  ^^*™  ^°^^-  General  Murray  about  this  time  was 
appointed    formally  appointed  Governor  of  Canada,  but  did  not 

Governor     ^J^^gy  j^j^  jjjg  ^^g^g  yj^jjj  jj^^  ^^^^^j  ^^^^^  although  he 

572 


CANADA   UNDER  THE  BRITISH 
had  been  dc  facto  or  military  Governor  since  1760  xh 
A  royal  proclamation  in  the  fall  of  1763  defineZtVe "-  ««. 
new  Go^•er^ment  and  divided  the  newly-acnuired  rrf 
reg.ons  „,o  Quebec,  East  Florida,  W   ^^0"  da     " 

eluded  Zh  .        ^'°"^'"^  ''  2"^'"'^  --in- 
cluded the  whole  vast  Ohio  River  and  Mississinni 

R.ver  country,  which  the  other  colonies,  es^c  Z 

V.rgrm.a,  Pennsylvania.  New  York  and  Ma^a  d 

rinces  they  had  made  for  it.     The  Oueher  ^  of  „f 
1774  (of  which  we  shall  know  n,ore^p"t'ntlyfi: 
creased^the  dissatisfaction  over  this  a'ssignr^S 'of 

for^"n''•"■v'''^''  °^  '^"'  proclamation  provided 
for  a  prmiitn.e  form  of  rule,  promising  a  ConI  ftu 
onal  Government  when  times  would  ,Srmit  and  hi 

nmTnt"  IZT^''''?  '"'■'  Crown-named  Gov- 
ernment^ More  important  still,  it  provided  that  the 
laws  of  Great  Britain  should  prevail  in  X  T  '  h 
cnmma,  cases.  This  led  to  allLrts  of  "omp  ,"„' 
and  misunderstanding.  As  Dr  Miinr,,  ^T,  \ 
Je  s    t       ,,  ,„„^^f  ^^.^^  ^asXCrwI  -™ 

in  the  various  district!.  '^Z:!  ^^  oTfoS 
higher  courts  with  ramifications  which  d  s  ressed 
the  habitants  to  an  incredible  extent     Th»  ■  f 
were  Britons,  :he  Juries  FrenchmetauJt^Sr 

F5fr^s'£i-S';rb5 


573 


by  VV.  Bennett 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

to  the  obligation  of  their  attendance  on  its  sessions. 
Wrinjung  The  confusion  grew  so  serious  that  in  two  months 
"'"  Murray  was  compelled  to  modify  the  system  in  so 
far  as  it  applied  to  land  t<^nure  and  to  cease  dealing 
with  the  rights  of  inheritance.  Another  source  of 
dissatisfaction  with  the  administration  was  the  divis- 
ion of  the  people  into  two  parts,  "the  old  subjects" 
and  "the  new  subjects."  The  former  term  was  ap- 
plied, not  as  one  would  presume,  to  the  French  Ca- 
nadians, but  to  the  small  British  element  in  Canada 
or  those  who  came  in  with  the  conquerors,  while  the 
natives  of  the  soil  were  called  "the  new  subjects." 
Furthermore,  these  "old  subjects"  began  their  Ca- 
nadian existence  by  asserting  their  claims  to  pre- 
ferment. There  were  only  a  few  hundred  of  them  at 
first,  but  they  assumed  full  authority. 

The  story  of  all  the  disturbances  of  Murray's 
regime  is  almost  wholly  a  story  of  law  and  justice 
difficulties.  The  government  of  the  colony  was  ad- 
ministered by  the  governor  and  his  council  of  seven 
men,  the  Chief  Justice  and  the  Attorney-General.  It 
was  impossible  that  this  council  should  always  act 
wisely,  and  it  certainly  was  -oncerned  with  many 
things.  Chief  of  the  disputes  that  came  to  it  were 
these  court  cases.  A  region  which  had  known 
practically  no  free  judicial  system  when  it  received 
that  boon  did  not  hesitate  to  abuse  it.  The  first 
grand  jury,  for  example,  instead  of  presenting  crim- 
inals to  justice  and  in  general  busying  itself  with  its 
proper  duties,  actually  made  a  presentment  to  the 
judge  of  complaints  of  abuses  in  the  government  of 
the  province — a  nroceeding  that  amaze  i  the  judge 
and  called  forth  a  vigorous  rebuke.  A  large  share 
of  this  trouble  came  from  the  British  eiement,  which 

574 


An 

amazing 
grand  jury 


CANADA   UNDER   THE   BRITISH 
seemed  to  delight  to  stir  up  strife.     Nor  was  the 
attitude  o    the  justices  always  free  from  prejudice 
or  pohfca  purpose.    Wrang:ling  took  place  through- 
out the  colony.     An  aflfair  at  f.Iontreal.  in  which  a 
jusfce  name<l  Walker  was  involved,  le.l  to  an  as- 
sault upon  him  by  the  military  element  in  his  room 
.n  wluch  he  was  left  almost  dead  an<l  with  one  eat^ 
cut  off.     The  echoes  of  this  affair  continuc.l  to  re 
sound  m  the  colony  for  years.     Then  there  was 
Rouble  over  the  currency.     Bigot  had  issued  papei  t.„„.„ 
money    m    reckless    fashion   and    its   irredeemable"""" 
nature  caused  distress  and  cheating  when  the  British  """"'" 
came  m. 

Murray  was  also  having  trouble  with  the  mili- 
tary  commanders,   those   at    .\rontreal   anrl    Three 
Rivers  refusmg  to  recognize  him  in  his  militarv  ca- 
pacity after  his  appointment  as  governor.    The  con- 
test   over    religion    did    not    cease.      The    home 
government  did  not  plainly  and  definitelv  fix  the 
status   of  the  Roman   Catholic   religion/and  the 
priests  and  people  grew  very  restive  about  it     Thev 
were  now  without  a  spiritual  head,  the  good  Bishop 
Pontbnand  having  died  a  short  time  after  he  had 
laid  Montcalm  away  and  no  provision  ha\-ing  been 
made  for  the  selection  of  his  successor.     Lacorne 
head  of  the  Jesuit  chapter  at  Quebec,  had  busied' 
himse  f  about  the  affair  and  succeeded  in  getting  the 
French  Ambassador  to  England  to  interfere,  with 
the  result  that  the  Ambassador  was  snubbed  and 
Lacorne  was  discredited.    A  priest,  M.  Mont^lfier 
was  a  candidate  for  the  place  and  was  really  selected 
by  the  priests  for  it.     Murray,  however,   favored  B.h=r 
Mgr.  Briand.  and  at  length  he  was  selected  by  con- '"^°'"^''°- 
sent  of  the  British  Government  and  consecrated  in^T""' 
^''S  Canada— 9  Vol.  II 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Murr.y'.  Paris  in  March,  1766.  The  very  day  of  his  arrival 
"""  in  Quebec  was  that  of  Murray's  departure,  June  28. 
The  latter's  enemies — and  they  were  many — con- 
vinced the  home  government  that  he  should  be  re- 
called, and  this  was  done  in  a  way  that  was  not  at 
all  consistent  with  the  worth  of  the  man.  Undoubt- 
edly Murray  was  a  most  valuable  officer  for  Canada. 
He  had  acted  honestly  and  courageously  and,  on  the 
whole,  wisely.  His  recall  was  ,ui  evidence  of  the 
blindness  of  the  king's  ministers,  a  blindness  which 
was  only  too  evident  in  those  cloudy  days. 

Murray's  choice  of  Briand  turned  out  to  be  an 
excellent  one.  The  new  bishop  had  spent  all  but 
the  first  two  years  of  his  life  as  a  priest  in  Canada 
and  was  canon  of  the  Cathedral  of  Quebec.  He 
lived  to  be  eighty-one  years  of  age,  having  seen  "the 
death  of  the  coadjutor  of  the  coadjutor  of  his  first 
coadjutor." 
Hiideieue  The  letter  which  Murray  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Shel- 
burne  in  defense  of  his  administration  is  an  extraor- 
dinary and  remarkably  convincing  document,  ar- 
raigning most  powerfully  both  the  actions  of  the 
British  element  in  Canada  and  the  Government 
in  Great  Britain  for  the  regulations  and  the  offi- 
cials they  sent  to  .\merica.  It  w^as  warm  in  defense 
of  the  Canadian  people,  concluding  with  these  elo- 
quent words:  "I  glory  in  having  been  accused  of 
warmth  and  finnness  in  protecting  the  King's  Ca- 
nadian subjects  and  of  doing  my  utmost  to  give 
to  my  royal  master  the  affections  of  that  brave, 
hardy  people,  whose  emigration,  if  it  ever  shall 
happen,  will  be  an  irreparable  loss  to  this  em- 
pire, to  prevent  which.  I  declare  to  your  Lord- 
ship. I  would  cheerfully  submit  to  greater  calum- 
5:?6 


CAN-ADA    UNDER   THE   BKITISIt 

hther.o'l''t'^"'''*t  ''  ^'''''^  "'"  "^  "^•--'  ">an 
niinerto  1  have  undergone 

and  v^as  filled  with  very  ,nteresti„g  ex,,eriences     He  " 

was  ,n  co>r,n,and  of  that  oii-U-sic^J  fona,,    {' 

"orca   and  defended  it  with  such  v.dor  du     u  len   t 

cap,  ula.ed  ,.  ,78.  ,he  physical  weakness  of  en 

xacted  p„y  and  adn.ira.ion  from  the  enemy     For 

1".    cap.tulafon    he    was   co.,rt-n,arl,alc,l    l.ut    ac 

«,  and  a  few  years  later  dK.i  a  fn,,  ™^ 
in  tile  army. 

The  only  justification  for  the  recall  of  Murray 
^vas  an  ,•..•  ^os,  facto  one;  it  lay  in  the  success  of 
Src^;^*^^'   '''  ^"^  ^■-'^-'  «^-ward  Lorl 


'oru 


577 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

THE    GOVERNORSHIP    Ol'    CARLETON    AND 
TIIK    (QUEBEC    ACT 


(.irleton 
latidi.  Sept 


SciHsh 
retiidenis 


GENKKAL  CARLETON  was  with  Wolfe  at 
tlie  siefje  of  Quebec  as  Qnartemiaster-Getieral. 
Yet  because  of  tlic  iiicfricicucy  of  bis  cnffineer- 
inp  staff,  Wolfe  relie'i  upon  Carleton  as  bis  prin- 
cipal enjfiiieer  officer.  Wolfe  liked  bini  so  well 
tbat  he  Icf*^  him  £i,cxx)  in  his  will,  .\fter  the 
conquest  Cariclon  remained  at  Quebec  In  1762 
he  assisted  in  the  siege  of  Havana  and  was  se- 
riously wounded  From  that  time  on  he  was 
in  England  until  appointed  to  relieve  Murray. 
He  landed  at  Quebec  on  September  2;,,  1766,  though 
it  was  not  until  the  25th  of  October,  1769,  tbat 
be  actually  became  Governor-in-CIiicf.  W?  shall 
see  throughout  the  entire  pe  iod  of  English  rule 
of  Canada  how  the  Governor-Generals  appointed 
to  succeed  those  who  bad  proved  unsatisfactory, 
very  frefjuently  pursued  the  same  policy  as  their 
predecessors.  This  was  the  case  with  Carleton. 
Like  Murray,  he  saw  that  one  great  source  of 
trouble  was  the  selfishness  of  the  .small  body  of 
English  residents ;  that  the  unrest  on  the  part  of  iC' 
French  proceeded  largely  from  the  aggressions  of 
the  English.  During  the  next  seven  or  eight  years 
the  hi.stury  of  Quebec  and  Canada  is  on  its  surface 
578 


THE  GOVERNORSHIP  OF  CARLETON 
very  little  el«;  than  the  biclcerin,f  ai.d  petty  «,,ntv 
b  .HR  of  those  t.vo  factu^s.    The^re„rc  ..Tat 
have  always  been  a  contentious  people,  and  the  ad! 
m,n,s,rat,on   ,„   just.ce  during,  th,s'^^.r,o<i    vast 

There"" were"""''^'"';"-^   ■"""    '"""'-'   -"<'"■- 
mere  were  var.ous  plans  ,>ro,«sed  for  the  allevia- 

turn  of  these  burdens,  bu,  i,  is  unnecessary  '„  ^ve 

hem  ,n  det-.l.     One  of  the  principal  ofhcers  of^.« 

Oovermnent   was   Francs   Ma.scr'.   „„   .Attorn  "„....,„ 

General,    Carlet.>n  commissioned  Mint  to  make  a  re-  ■"»"  " 

port  on  a  plan  for  reform,  and  his  report  nn.loub   dly  ^, 

had  great  weight  ,n  the  final  settlement,     Maseres 

was^h-wever.  hke  most  oi  the  descendants  o.the 

exded  Huguenots,  a  very  bitter  anti-Catholic   and 

was  not  m  favor  of  allowing  the  Ro.ttan  Cathoircs 

any  share  whatever  in  the  govennnent.     Wit  I,    h 

ninrray,  an.l  the  CiOvemor  s<x>n  came  to  sec  thr 
hm.tat,ons  of  his  Attorney-Ge,teral.      Socfaf  Jr 

niary,    ,769     Maseres   obtained   leave   of   absence 
^nd^etunted  to  l.^l.nd,  never  again  to  te  h ! 

During  this  period,  while  ,t  was  impossible  to 
make  any  radical  n^forms  in  :he  metho^Xover^ 

istra^-s  H  l^^^  ',"  "^'^'"'"^  the  power  of  mj 
istratis  and  ;he  evils  of  pettifogging  lawn-ers  W 
he  was  unable  to  accomphsh  as^^uch  a  "^    op^' 

his  idi^f'^;^^^  ^^^^!^^^^ 

becatne  four  ye^rs,  for  ,t  took  Parliament  so  long 
579  * 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

to  pass  the  new  regulations.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
two  years  before  Carleton  leti  he  had  reported  to 
tlie  Government  the  feehng  of  unrest  in  the  southern 
Provinces.  In  fact,  he  seemed  to  \x  more  ahve  to 
the  situation  tha.i  did  General  Gage,  who  com- 
manded there.  During  Carleton's  stay  in  England 
Cramalie,  a  Swiss  Protestant,  acted  as  Governor. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  the  Council  and  was  re- 
spected by  Murray  as  well  as  Carleton.  During  his 
regime  \xry  little  of  importance  happened.  The 
Continued  English  residents  continued  to  keep  up  their  agita- 
>eitation  jj^j^  j^^.  ^  popular  House  of  Assembly,  such  as  the 
southern  colonies  had.  and  they  attempted  to  induce 
the  French  Canadians  to  join  with  them,  but  the 
latter  refused. 

P.-VS.SING   THE   QUEBEC    ACT 

The  slowness  with  which  the  British  Government 
acted  on  the  question  of  the  judiciary  of  Canada 
seems  incredible  at  this  time,  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  Act  itself  was  passed  witli  remarkable  rapidity. 
Why  it  was  not  introduced  into  Parliament  earlier 
we  do  not  know.  It  was  presented  to  the  House 
of  Lords  on  tlie  17th  of  May,  1774,  and  was 
passed  there  almost  immediately.  It  passed  the 
House  of  Commons  on  June  10  by  a  vote  of  56  to  20. 
During  the  brief  time  it  was  before  Parliament, 
-.  great  many  witnesses  and  counselors  were  ex- 
amined, among  them,  of  course,  Carleton  and 
Maseres.  The  merchants  of  London  objected  to  the 
bill  becr.use  it  suspended  the  English  common  law  in 
Quebec  and  they  i^etitioned  the  King  to  veto  it,  but 
yutbtcAci  he  signed  it  without  hesitation.  This  bill,  known  as 
signed        .^^  Oueljec  .'\ct,  was  one  of  the  most  important 

580 


THE  GOVERNORSHIP   OF  CARLETOX 
measures  passed  for  North  America.    It  was  prac- 
tically the  Constitution  of  Canada,  and  one  of  its 
provisions   undoubtedly  assisted   in  the  American 
Revolution. 

The  Quebec  Act  was  in  many  resiiecfs  a  hGiifre- 
podge  affair.   It  fixed  boundaries  as  well  as  laid  <lown 
rules  for  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the  ob- 
servances of  religion.     If  it  had  been  i>assed  ten 
year.s  earlier  it  would  have  saved  many  years'  trou- 
ble, for  ,t  did  straighten  out  a  good  many  sources 
o    misunderstanding  and  unrest.     The  first  section 
of  the  bill  is  an  elaborate  provision  that  the  lands  of 
the  Ohio  Valley,  now  in  the  great  Middle  West  of 
the  Lnited  States,  should  be  made  a  part  of  Ouebec 
Another  important  provision  guaranteed  to  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion  and 
that  the  clergy  "should  hold,  receive,  and  en-'-.y  their 
accustomed  dues  and  rights."     The  oath  of  alle- 
giance which  the  Roman  Catholics  were  required  to 
take  was  much  mitigated  from  the  oath  required  in 
Elizabeth's  reign,  which  had  been  used  up  to  tliat 
time,  and  the  Roman  Catholics  were  not  compelled 
in  any  way  to  abjure  their  religion.     The  English 
criminal  law  which  had  obtained  in  the   Province 
since  the  English  period  began  and  had  ,)ro\ed  sat- 
isfactory, was  continued,  bin  the  French  civil  law 
which  had  been  superseded  by  the  English  common' 
law  up  to  this  time,  was  restored.     x\„  popular  as- 
sembly was  granted,  but  a  Legislati\c  Council  was 
established,  consisting  of  not  less  than  seventeen  nor 
more  than  twenty-three  members,  nominated  by  the 
Crown  with  full  powers  of  internal  legislation  and 
taxation,     lire  Governor  was  gixen  the  veto  ix)wer 
over  their  acts  and  to  the  Sovereign  was  allowed  the 
s8i 


Catholics' 
riffhtssalc- 
eruarded 


French 
civil  !jw 
restore.! 


The  Ohio 
country 

joined  to 
{Quebec 


A  mis- 
chievous 
provision 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

usual  six  months  in  which  to  veto  any  of  the  coun- 
cil's actions. 

The  provision  in  this  Act  which  annexed  the  Ohio 
country-  to  Qiiehec  was  not  only  unjust,  but  impo- 
litic and  absurd.  It  was  regarde<l  by  the  American 
colonies  of  the  south  as  inspired  by  a  desire  to  pun- 
ish the  spirit  of  insubordination  which  was  manifest 
there.  i;ndoubtC("v  the  Huron  coun*  7  and  the 
sections  which  we  now  know  as  Wisconsin  and 
Michigan  and  some  parts  of  Illinois  were  tributary 
to  Quebec  and  were  settled  by  Frenchmen,  but  into 
what  is  now  Ohio  and  Indiana  had  poured  a  large 
stream  of  immigration  since  the  English  conquest 
of  Quebec  and  especially  since  the  oveithrow  of 
Pontiac.  These  settlers  were  almost  wholly  from 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia, 
and  were  practically  all  Englishmen,  who  felt  that 
tliey  belonged  to  the  old  Englisli  colonies  whence 
they  came.  They  had  settled  there  largely  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Ohio  Company,  and  so  prominent 
a  I  ..n  as  Washington  had  been  interested  in  these 
settlements  and  had  made  a  tour  of  inspection  and 
investigation  in  1770.  For  these  men  and  their 
coimtry  now  to  be  included  in  Quebec,  to  derive 
tlieir  powers  of  government  from  the  old  French 
capital,  would  have  Iseen  entirely  proper  if  the 
French  had  won  the  French  and  Indian  war  and 
had  acquired  by  treaty  all  diat  country.  But  under 
the  circumstances  this  annexation  of  the  Ohio  coun- 
try to  Quel)ec  was  illogical.  The  other  provisions 
of  the  .Act  were  excellent  in  every  way.  The  wis- 
dom of  restoring  the  French  laws  in  civil  affairs,  of 
confirming  the  Catholics  in  their  rights,  and  of  re- 
fusing the  grant  of  the  representative  .Assembly  is 
582 


THE   GOVERXORSHIP  OF   CARLETOX 
patent  to  all  who  have  impartially  studied  this  period 
LiKloubtedly  the  measure  was  favorably  received 
and  even  applauded  by  the  great  masses  of  the  people 
Only  the  Bntish  colonial  faction  was  discontented 

W  ith  tht  passage  of  the  Quebec  Act,  Carleton  had  cnc™ 
niished  his  work  m  England  and  returned  to  Que- '""""• 
bee.     He  had  come  none  too  soon  for  the  safety  ofn"":. 
the  colony.    Lvery  .   .e  there  knew  that  the  southern '""" 
colonies  were  on  the  verge  of  an  insurrection  of 
some  sort,  and  the  necessity  of  securing  harmony  in 
Canada  and  of  preventing  the  spirit  of  mutiny  from 
becoming  contagious  there,  as  well  as  of  putting  the 
fortifications  of  Quebec  in  a  proper  state  of  defense 
was  urgent.     The  American  colonists  of  the  south' 
were  doing  all  they  could  to  foment  rebellion  in 
Quebec,  and  had  it  contained  any  consi  '    able  num- 
ber of  American  colonists  the  result  would  have  been  th.  ro„. 
tlie  same  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  south  of  it  ""■"" 
The  Continental  Congress,  in  session  at  Philadelphia  mT"' 
m  September,  1774,  passed  an  address  to  the  inhab- """"''" 
.tants  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  ^vhich  urged  theinf^r,"" 
to  join  with  the  other  colonies  in  demanding  a  just 
f<>rm  of  government,  and  to  choose  delegates  to  the 
Continental  Congress  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  the 
next  May.     This  address  is  an  exceedingly  lonir- 
winded,  turgid,  and  bombastic  affair,  full  of  italics 
and  high-sounding  phrases.     It  did,  however,  make* 
a  considerable  impression  upon  the  inhabitants  of  "''""*"'' 
Quebec,  and  would  have  been  much  more  effective"'™' 
If  those  mliabitants  had  not  received  relief  and  jus- 
tice by  the  Quebec  Act.  the  news  of  the  provisions 
of  which  had  just  reached  them. 


58.3 


CHAPTER    XXXII 


REAL    CAUSES    OF    THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


Intereiting. 
but  not 
important 


W^ 


Sources  of 
revolt  not 
tangible 


tion,  a  period  in  Canadian  history  that  is  ex- 
ceedingly interesting,  but  as  it  turned  out,  not  vitally 
important.  I  take  it  that  the  real  causes  of  the 
American  Revolution  are  pretty  well  known  to  all 
readers,  and  I  assume,  too,  that  these  causes  are  rec- 
ognized as  not  those  which  Americans  were  once  ac- 
customed to  regard  as  such.  The  vexing  and  widely 
blazoned  Stamp  Act  and  the  embargo  and  the  tax 
on  tea  and  the  Boston  Massacre  and  those  other 
exciting  episodes,  which  are  given  full  credit  in  the 
annals  of  the  time  and  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, are  really  not  the  main  causes  of  the  revo- 
lution. The  big  tiling  wliich  compelled  the  colonies 
to  revolt  was  not  material.  It  was  largely  senti- 
mental. The  government  of  the  American  colonies 
by  Great  Britain  was  in  many  respects  a  model  one, 
and  certainly  excellent  in  many  details.  The  British 
Government  of  course,  made  a  great  many  blunders, 
as  all  governments  do  in  dealing  with  colonies,  but 
the  chief  source  of  trouble  was  sentimental  and  geo- 
graphical. The  spirit  of  revolution  was  in  the  air. 
The  doctrine  of  the  equality  of  men  was  being 
urged  upon  all  educated  men  and  throtigh  them  upon 
the  masses  throughout  America  as  well  as  '^rance. 


CAUSES    OF    THIL    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 
Tliis  tended  to  make  the  colonists  impatient  of  any 
d.rect,on  except  their  own.    It  did  not  tend  to  va  d 
tliejr  own  tm.on  except  possibly  for  the  n,erest  for 
mal.fes  and  for  a  military  necessity  which    1     •  fe  t 
vaguely  ,mght  appear,  bnt  it  did  make  intole'raWe 
he  thought  of  their  being  ruled  by  any  otl™ 
than  the,r  own.    This  was  especially  true  and  ^ti 
..ent  when  that  ruling  power  was^hree  tlC 
nid^  ;way  and  separated  from  them  by  an  ocean 

miiiica  people.    It  was  smiply  impossible  that  these"'"""" 

goTer'S"  ''"?'°-S,™  --■  P-eers  should  ^C""- 
governed  even  m  the  most  beneficent  and  liberal 
n,a„ner  by  any  king  or  ministry  or  people  from  be 
>ond  the  seas.     At  first  they  did  not  consciously 
seek    mdependence.    but    this'spirit    wa       he   " 
ounda  ,on  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence    S 
was  the  excuse  for  that  sonorous  document      This 
s  assuredly  not  saying  anything  to  detract   f  .' 
he  heroism  and  nobility  of  the  American  KeyX 
t.on  and  ,ts  leaders.     They  were  obeying  an  ir  e- 
.sfble  force  and  impulse,  and  that  they  risked  tl     r 
hyes  and  fortunes  in  taking  this  action's  patent  and 
will  be  forever  to  their  credit. 

The  progress  of  the  revolution  was  helned  alontr 
a  great  deal  by  the  recollection  of  the  m  "  i^^^^" 
fees  of  wh.ch  the  British  Government   had  Zn 
gmhy  m  the  past,  and  of  the  narrow-minded  way 
m  which  government   had  been  administered  and 
liberties  had  been  doled  out  to  the  colonies      St  II  n.  .o„„. 
another  thing  of  timely  force  was  the  absence  o    -:  ^"^ 
any  foe  on  the  con ■  inent  to  fight.    Undoubtedly  the  "  '*" 
conquest  ot  Canada  by  the  English,  which  was  Z- 
claimed  m  England  and  the  southern  colonies  will. 
58s 


Pitt'i 

xbunce 

costly 


Benjamin 
Franklin'! 
sophistry 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

great  entlnisiasm,  hastened  the  Revolution.  One  of 
the  strongest  forces  which  bind  men  to  pohtical 
parties  is  not  tlieir  lovi  for  each  other  or  for  their 
party,  but  Uieir  hatred  oi  the  opposition.  Now,  when 
there  was  no  opposition,  the  colonists  no  longer 
felt  any  special  affection  for  or  dependency  on  Eng- 
land, and  became  very  lukewarm  British  subjects. 

It  was  just  at  this  moment,  when  the  wisest  states- 
manship was  required  in  London,  that  England  de- 
cided to  dispense  with  Pitt  and  got  one  of  the  worst 
and  most  corrupt  Ministries  in  her  liistory.  Instead 
of  dealing  tactfully  with  the  sensitive  colonists  this 
Ministry  determined  to  make  the  colonists  help  pay 
the  expenses  of  the  French  anil  Indian  War.  Now 
it  is  indisputably  true  that  a  larg°  percentage  of  the 
cost  of  that  war  was  incurred  for  the  sake  of  the 
colonies  and  because  of  their  acts,  and  it  was  entirely 
proper  that  they  should  be  asked  to  pay  for  a  por- 
tion of  it.  Benjamin  Franklin  said  that  undoubtedly 
the  colonists  would  have  been  glad  to  pay  their 
portion  if  they  had  been  asked  to  do  it  instead  of 
having  taxation  forced  upon  them.  This  was  a 
characteristically  sophisticated  and  politic  remark  by 
Mr.  Franklin,  and  undoubtedly  was  effective  in  re- 
enforcing  the  argument  for  the  .American  side  in 
this  controversy,  but  it  was  really  befogging  the 
issue.  The  .American  colonists  were  bound  to  be 
independent,  and  they  would  hn.ve  resisted  even  a 
request  to  pay  for  these  war  erpenses.  They  had 
determined  to  forget  all  the  good  things  England 
had  done  and  to  rememljer  all  the  'xid  ones,  and 
nothing  could  stay  their  course. 

The  only  thing  that  could  possibly  have  put  off  the 
Revolutioii  was,  as  I  have  said,  wise  and  states- 


C/.USES    OF    THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 

manlike  action  by  the  London  authorities.    Instead 
of  that,  they  blundered  at  every  step.     The  Stamp 
Act  was  a  blunder,  and  the  repeal  was  a  blunder  in 
the  way  in  whicli  it  was  done,  for  when  the  rei)eal 
was  made  it  was  accompanied  'ry  a  statement  that 
Parliament  considered  it  had  a  right  to  lay  the  tax 
which  it  had  just  repealed  :  something  like  a  boy  who 
has  been  beaten  by  another  toy  and  then  goes  to  his 
victor  ?nd  tells  him  that  if  the  latter  will  give  him 
an  apple  he  won't  thrash  him.     The  repeal  showed 
weakness  and  encouraged  the  colonies,  and  the  state- 
ment  accompanying  it   only  angered   them.     The 
result  was  worse  than  before  from  the  British  stand- 
point.    The  tax  on  tea  revealed  the  same  thing. 
This  tax  was  a  very  small  affair,  not  worth  dis- 
cussing, but  the  principle  of  the  tax  and  th-  arbitrary 
v/a-'r  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  collect  .       ide  any 
submission  to  it  by  'he  colonists  impossible.     Then 
followed  the  Boston  Tea  Party  and  the  Boston  Port 
bill,  an  act  of  retaliation  by  the  British  Government 
which  had  the  usual  boomerang  effect.    This  led  di- 
rectly to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1774,  the  for- 
mation of  a  system  of  committees  of  correspondence 
througliout  the  colonies,  and  other  steps  which  from 
that  time  went  on  rapidly  enough. 

The  centre  of  the  agitation,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
ihe  uneasy,  restless,  obstreperous  town  on  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  Gage  had  gone  there  some  time  before, 
hoping  by  show  of  soldiery  to  keep  the  people  hum- 
ble and  subdued;  but,  as  usual,  the  soldiers  made 
themselves  offensive  and  only  aided  the  spirit  of  re- 
volt. His  attempt  to  capture  that  little  supply  of 
ammunition  at  Concord  had  consequences  which  it 
is  not  necessary  to  detail.  That  was  on  April  19, 
58/ 


Britiih 

ment'l 
bluodcriny 


Lexington 
ind 

Concord, 
Apri'  iQ, 

'775 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

w.ih-  1775.  On  the  following  May  loth,  the  Continental 
«f«°iona  Congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia.  Almost  the 
lintntroke  first  thing  that  i.  did  was  to  place  Washington  in 
command  of  the  army  which  had  been  gathered  to- 
gether around  Boston.  This,  to  be  sure,  was  not  an 
army  at  all,  but  an  aggregation  of  militiamen  and 
volunteers  of  various  sorts.  But  the  act  of  placing 
Washington  in  command  of  this  force  was  as  shrewd 
a  thing  as  the  Continental  Congress  did.  Washing- 
ton was  undoubtedly  the  best  military  leader  in  the 
country,  and  by  putting  a  Virginia  colonel  in  com- 
mand of  the  Massachujctts  force.  Congress  made  one 
of  those  happy  strokes  which  worked  powerfully  for 
the  future  union  of  the  colonies  in  a  way  that  they 
could  hardly  realize.  While  that  army  around  Bos- 
ton was  waiting  for  the  Continental  Congress  to 
meet,  the  war  was  carried  up  into  the  old  fighting 
Ticonde-  ground  of  the  French  and  the  Indian.  The  story  of 
rog.and  ([^g  capture  of  Ticonderoga  on  May  loth,  by  a  force 
of  Connecticut  militiamen,  sent  there  by  notxxly,  un- 
der Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  "in  the  name  of  the  great 
Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress,"  is  too  good 
a  story  to  lose,  even  if  the  "higher  criticism"  of  these 
iconoclastic  days  has  attempted  to  destroy  it.  At  any 
rate  Colonel  Allen,  with  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold, 
took  Ticonderoga  that  day  and  four  days  later 
Crown  Point  fell.  Allen  then  pushed  on  in  his  irre- 
sponsible campaign  down  the  lake  toward  Sorel,  but 
soon  was  compelled  to  return. 

By  this  time  the  news  had  reached  Montreal  and 
naturally  excited  great  alarm  there.  Information 
was  at  once  sent  to  Carleton,  who  immediately  des- 
patched troops  to  Montreal,  leaving  only  a  small 
garrison   at   Quebec.      It   was   the    26th    of    May 


rarleton 

nurries  to 
Montreal 


CAUSES    OF    THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 
when  Carleton   reached  Montreal.     He  soon  sawTh.p.op,. 
that  any  attempt  to  defend  the  city  would  probably  "''""»«"' 
fail,  but  he  tried  to  arouse  the  people.    The  Quebec 
Act  had  been  in  operation  only  a  few  weeks,  since 
the   ist  of  May,  and  the  people  were  not  wholly 
convinced  of  the  genuineness  of  its  guarantees.    For 
this  reason  they  were  slow  to  enroll  themselves  as 
mihtiamen,  even  when  Carleton  called  out  the  mil- 
itia.   The  people  were  also  dis.satisfied  iKcause  they 
were  not  allowed  to  choose  their  officers.    Even  the 
English  inhabitants  were  recalcitrant.    Finally  how- 
ever, by  dint  of  great  urging,  a  small  force  was  got 
^ether  at   Montreal   and   reviewed  by  Carleton. 
The  withdrawal  of  Allen's  force  removed  the  imme- 
diate source  of  danger,  but  it  di<l  not  lessen  Carle- 
ton s  fears  as  to  the  ultimate  result. 


CHAPTER    XXXIir 

ARNOLD    AXr)    MONTGOMERY'S    INVAStON 
OF      CANADA 


Conffresi 
plant  two 
campaign' 


Canada's 

pitiable 

«Oiidition 


^E  are  now  to  see  the  war  continued  into  Can- 
ada,   an.!   shall    follow   this   portion   of   the 
ampa.gn,  touching  on  the  operations  in  the  sou  hn 
eolon^s  onb-  as  they  are  directly  connected  wh 

and   bent   n^"^'"''  '""'''  ''''  "''''  '"  f""  ^^^ing 
and   bent  on  resistance,   to  make  two  canioaiens 

rer^ll  "^  ^  ontgomery,  who,  the  reader  will 

remember,  was  w,th  Wolfe  at  Quebec,  and  the  other 
was  under  Benedict  Arnold.     Mont,,  merwas  or 
dered  to  proceed  along  the  Lake  rh,rl7 ■ 

Arnol.     „  the  reduction  of  Quebec.    Arnold  was  to 

gomg  np  that  way  to  reach  and  attack  Quebec 

tareton  was  in  a  sorry  sitiuition  and  was  unable 
to  make  an  appropriate  defense  of  the  colony  He 
had  only  about  a  thousand  regulars  and  not  a'sing!e 

590 


ARNOLD  A.VD  MONTGOMERYS  INVASION 
armed  vessel.  It  looked  at  the  beginning  as  if  the 
easiest  task  of  all  for  the  Continentals  would  be  to 
capture  Canada,  not  only  because  of  its  defenseless 
condition,  but  because  of  the  supposed  disloyalty  of 
the  people.  The  British  authorities  either  did  not 
think  Canada  worth  saving  o"  did  not  appreciate 
the  difficulties  of  Carleton's  position,  for  while  they 
poured  troops  into  Boston  the)  waited  long  briore 
they  started  ^.ly  for  Canada. 

Carleton  had  written  to  the  home  Government  of  c.ri«.„., 
the  feasibility  of  making  Canada  a  base  of  opera- p''*"' "" 
tions  tor  the  coming  war,  but  the  dull  Ministers  b,:2".' 
seemed  to  have  no  conception  of  the  real  situation 
Not  only  did  they  lend  no  aid  to  Carleton  at  that 
time,  but  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies 
exhibited  his  monumental  ignorance  and  incapacity 
by  writing  to  Carleton  and  ordering  him  to  raise  a 
force  of  3.000  men  for  the  purpose  of  reenforcing 
Gage  s  army  in  Boston— this,  when  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  Carleton  to  raise  500  men  in  the  colony  to 
protect    it    from   invasion.      Two   weeks   later   the 
same   officer   asked    Carleton    to   send    6,000    in- 
stead  of   3,000!    Just   why   the   British    Ministry 
should  have  so  relied  upon  the  lovalty  of  the  Cana- 
dians It  is  impossible  to  discern.     It  is  only  another 
Illustration  of  the  good  luck  the  American  colonies 
had  in  the  sort  of  people  who  then  ruled  Britain. 
Carietnn  had  sense  enough  to  pay  no  attention  to 
such  requests,  but  in  turn  sent  a  ship  to  Boston  to 
ask  Gage  to  send  him  two  regiments.     Gage  hadNoaia 
just  left  for  England,  but  Lord  Howe  was  in  com-'""" 
mand  and  was  willing  to  grant  the  request.     Ad-"""™ 
miral  Graves,  however,  declined  to  furnish  the  ves- 
sel on  the  ground  that  during  the  month  of  October 


Monttfnm 
try  »urt» 


TUF.    TFRCKXTKVARY    HrSTORY    OF    CANADA 
it  would  be  imiKjssible  to  take  it  up  the  St    Law- 
rence to  Quebec,  so  Carleton  was  thrown  back  on 
his  own  resources. 

iiy  that  time  the  expedition  under  Montgomery 
was  a  rca.ly  on  it.s  way.  ,\t  first  Montgomery  was 
second  ni  command.  Philip  Schuyler  Ix-ing  the 
^ader.  but  after  the  invading  expedition  had  reached 
ne-aux-Noix,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain, 
bchuyler  was  taken  ill  and  compelled  to  return 
Montgomery  continued  and  reallv  liad  very  little 
K^h.^nAn„d,ft,culty  in  getting  to  Montreal.  '  A  rash  advatico 
party  under  !•  than  Allen,  numbering  1 50  men  at- 
tempted to  surprise  the  city,  but  warniii,:^  was  given 
and  when  the  attack  o;,  the  city  was  made  the  re- 
sponse was  so  overwhelming  that  thirty-five  of  the 
Amer,ca..s  were  taken  prisoners,  including  Allen 
Himself,  he  was  put  in  irons,  taken  to  Quebec  and 
then  sent  to  England  and  confined  in  Pendennis's 
castle  near  Falmouth. 

Montgomery  advanced  sharply,  capturing  both  St 
Jonns  and  Chambly  without  great  opposition  and 
obtammg  guns,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  of 
which  he  was  sorely  in  need.  An  expedition  which 
Carleton  had  led  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  St 
Johns  on  October  30th  was  a  complete  failure,  and 
Carleton  was  compelled  to  return  to  Montreal  He 
saw  plainly  that  he  could  really  entertain  no  hopes 
of  saving  Montreal.  Out  of  12,000  to  14,000  peo- 
ple m  the  city  Itself,  besides  tho^e  of  the  surrounding 
country,  he  lia<l  been  able  to  get  only  about  800  vol- 
unteers. So  on  November  1 1  he  left  Montreal  by 
boat  and  succeeded  in  making  his  way  to  Quebec 
narrowly  escaping  capture.  Two  days  after  hi.s 
departure  from  Montreal  Montgomerj-  entered  it 
592 


Cariclon 
narrowly 
eicapes 
capture 


ARNOLD   AMD    MONTGOMERY'S    INVASION 

almost  without  opposition.  He  dad  thus,  in  about  mo.,,,™ 
two  months,  taken  possession  of  nearly  every  im-'""""" 
portant  post  in  Canada.  inchuJinR;  the  metropolis, 
gained  large  stores  of  provisions,  gims.  and  am- 
munition, and  had  lost  only  a  liandfu!  of  men.  It 
looked  very  much  as  if  Canada's  British  days  were 
to  be  few. 

Arnold's  expedition  consisted  of  ten  companies  a,»oij', 
from  New  F'ngland  and  three  companies  from  vir-"'""""" 
Rim'a  atKl  Pennsylvania—  i  .jcx)  men  in  all.  The  troops  "'"''""" 
assembled  at  Camhridpre.  Mass.,  on  Septemlier  ir 
and  marched  to  Newbury,  where  teats  were  taken 
to  the  Kcnnel)ec.  Starling  at  its  moutli  on  the  2Jil 
of  September,  they  proceeded  without  interniption, 
but  not  without  many  difficulties.  Thev  toiled 
up  the  height  of  land,  and  ascending  the  Dead  River, 
on  the  27th  of  Octol)er  reached  the  Chaudiere.' 
At  that  [xjuit  trouble  l>egaii.  Three  hnM-..  !;iden 
with  provisions  and  ammunition,  were  sunk  while 
descending  soine  of  the  rapids.  This  was  a  sad 
loss  to  the  party,  and  from  that  time  onward  the 
rations  were  short.  Some  Canadians  writers  have 
attempted  to  picture  this  exjjedition  as  a  .sort  of 
hnliday  party  having  a  pleasant  journey  through  the 
wtods  of  northern  Maine  and  southern  Quel)ec,  and 
some  American  writers  have  imdoubtedTy  exagger- 
ated its  difficulties.  There  were  perhaps  few  snow- 
storiTis  so  early  in  the  year,  but  the  feat  of  taking 
an  army  of  1,200  men  through  the  imbroken  forest 
of  cold  Maine  and  Quebec  in  five  weeks  was  a  re- 
markable one  and  could  not  have  lieen  without  dis- 
comfort and  privations.  After  descending  the  Chau- 
diere Arnold  found  himself  about  the  1st  of  No- 
vember at  Point  Levy,  opposite  Quebec.  He  had 
5W 


Arnold 
warmly 
greeted 


Carleton 

eludes 

Arnold 


Sentls  to 
England 
for  help 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
but  800  men  at  that  time,  some  of  them  having 
been  mvahded  liome  and  otliers  under  Colonel  EnJ 
returnmg  under  a  misconception  of  orders 

Arnold   was  everywhere  received  hospitably  by 
the  Canadians  and  he  felt  that  he  was  in  a  fri«,dly 
country.     He  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  supol^s 
and  the  morale  of  his  troops  was  excellent     Que  « 
Jht  across  the  river,  was  alx>ut  readv  to  sui.Jer 
>v  thout  a  fight,  and  if  there  had  been  'boats  a7pl 
Ijevy  or  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  Arnold  could  pZ- 
ably  have  taken  the  city  then.     Some  of  the  inhaW- 
tants  advocated   surrender,   but   bv   dint  of  mucL 
urgmg  about  350  volunteers  were  secured  b^Tes 
the  I  600  troops  there  for  the  defense  of  thfc   y 
On   the    14th   of   Xoveml^r.   Arnold    cross«l     he 
rn^er,  landed  at  Wolfe's  Cove  and  made  Ts  held 
quarters  nt  Sillcry.    The  ne^jt  dnv  ),»       ! 
D-prv^f),„    V     J  "^  "^-^t  «<^y  he  sent  a  messen- 

ger .0  the  city  demandmg  surrender.  No  response 
was  made  except  a  shot  from  the  guns  of  theT.^ 
A  few  days  later  he  retire<l  to  Pointe  aux  TrLb^ 
ten  mdes  farther  up  the  river,  and  there  satT«^ 
to  awa.t  the  arnval  of  Montgomery.  All  this  drT 
we  must  remember,  Quebec  was  witi,out  £  Z'- 
ernor,  and  ;t  was  only  a  day  or  two  after  An^M 
had  estabhshed  himself  at  Pointe  aux  Trembles  t^2 

^^ay  to  Quebec.     If  Arnold  had  only  possessed  a 
warship  of  some  sort  he  might  have  gobi^efa  rich 

When  Carleton  reached  Quebec  he  began  at  once 

wouM'Jl-:^r"'  ■""'"■■'=  ''  ""^  '™^"^  «<  hand 
would  admit.  He  sent  one  of  the  two  or  three  shins 

dition  of  affairs  and  to  ask  for  help,  and  he  drove 
594 


ARXOLD   AND    MONTGOMERY'S    INVASION 
out  of  the  city  several  men  who  wt    ■  seeretU  p'  .'- 
ting  to  deliver  it  over  to  the  Americ;  '.if.    ^ieauw'  .  e 
Alontgomery  was  mailing  his  way  d..'.\  i  the  rive-  to 
join  Arnold.     His  force  had  been  consideraoiy  les- 
sened by  illness  and  by  the  necessity  of  leaving  gar- 
risons at  the  various  large  places  along  the  way. 
When  the  two  armies  got  together  at  Pointe  auxMo„w,™- 
Trembles,   thf-y  comprised   only  about    1,500  men">'*°'"' 
without  artillery.     By  energetic  work  Carleton  had*™"" 
succeeded  in  mustering  a  few  hundred  regulars  and 
about  a  thousand  militiamen.     The  diaries  kept  by 
various  persons  in  Quebec  at  that  time  show  in 
what   a   desperate    fear   the   city   stood.      Various 
schemes  were  devised  by  Arnold  and  Montgomery 
to  capture  the  city,  but  they  were  not  able  to  carry 
them  out  owing  to  the  e.xcellent  spy  system  of  the 
British. 

THE   ATTACK    ON    QUEBEC 

At  length  on  New  Year's  eve,  during  a  blinding  De„a,b,r 
snowstorm,  the  assault  was  made  by  the  two  forces"'"" 
divided,  Arnold,  with  about  600  men,  entered  the 
town  from  the  north  end  through  St.  Koch's,  His 
men  drove  everything  before  them  at  first,  although 
Arnold  was  early  wounded  and  carried  from  the  field. 
At  length  entrance  to  the  city  was  gained.  There 
they  were  confronted  by  a  barricade  behind  which 
was  a  superior  force,  who,  after  repulsing  them, 
captured  almost  the  entire  number.  In  the  mean- 
time Montgomery  was  attempting  to  enter  the  town 
through  the  street  which  runs  along  the  river,  at 
the  foot  of  the  cliff  leading  to  the  Lower  Town.  '  At 
a  certain  point  near  where  now  stands  a  brick  stor- 
age house  a  barricade  liad  been  erected.  Behind  this 
595 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
barrica<lea  few  men  liad  gathered,  badly  frightened 
and  ready  to  run.     As  Montgomery  caL  forward 
leadmg  h,s  men  the  British  determinedTo  fir7«  e 
volley  before  thev  retre-ifp,!      Ti,-        t. 
Mo„,g„„.  historic     \fL         "^""^^w^"-     This  volley  was  most 
TV  m.,    "^'°"<=-    Montgomery  was  killed  and  several  of  his 
.ndgu.i,„  officers  were  killed  or  wounded    and  h,.!^ 
-         con,pletely  demoralised.   They  L   ,'y  r    .e"  ^l^a^d 
rnold''""r'   °".*^   --P'   oLhe  news  o 

spot  wtrltr     ;  '■'"'■'''  ''""'  "^^'^  P<'^-*'°"-     The 
spot  where  Montgomery  fell  was  awkwardly  marked 

fltSs^^'^ia^^^^^-^P-en-s  crossing 

scription:  "^  ^'   ''°™   "''^   ^™P'e   ">- 

//^ri?  Montgomery  Fell 

The  condition  of  the  American  troops  after  this 
double  repulse  was  desperate       Arnold  vil=  i      , 
wounded^  the  men  were^vithout  adequat    do  hS 
or  provisions,  smallpox,  as  usual,  broke  out  in  ca™f 

substituted  was  one  which  aH^l.^n  ''^""^\"«^  ^'«"  to  be 
defense  than  the  fa:t  ^^^l  g^Jf  l^n'^Lr'"  "'  "^ 
s.derablc  opposiuon  to  it  on  the  p^rt  of  thrPr  "'7'-,  .»■=''  .™"- 
which   show,  how  strrn^  ,1,     f  ?      ,  ™''  '-^"'"ilans, 

race.      At   lcn«r  TT  "'"^  'P'"'  ""^i"'  "'   "-at 

5p6 


AmerJcin.s 
desperate 


ARNOLD  AND  MO\TGOMr,RYS  INVASION 
enougi  to  resume  the  aggressive.  In  April,  Arnold 
recovered  from  his  wound  sufficiently  to  leaxe  for 
IVIontrea!  and  take  command  there,  Wooster  suc- 
ceeding him  before  Quebec.  On  May  6th  the  relief 
which  Carleton  expected  from  England  at  last  ar- 
ri\-ed.  It  consisted  of  ships  and  a  few  hundred 
troops  and  supplies.  On  the  very  day  of  the  arrival 
Carleton  s  ;t  out  to  pursue  the  Americans.  They  had 
already  observed  the  arrival  of  the  ships  and  had 
begun  preparations  for  retreat.  Undoubtedly  they 
overestimated  the  <ize  of  the  reenforcements,  for  on 
Carleton's  approach  they  fled  in  the  greatest  con- 
fusion, just  as  Levis  did,  abandoning  artillery,  am- 
munition, and  provisions.  So  rapid  was  thcT  flight 
that  it  was  impossible  to  catch  up  with  them.  They 
did  not  make  a  .stand  until  they  reached  Sorel. 

Meanwhile  American  affairs  in  Montreal  had  not 
been  progressing  well.  In  fact,  the  winter  which  the 
Americans  had  spent  in  Canada  was  very  little  as- 
sistance to  their  cause,  for  they  lost  in  a  large  meas- 
ure the  sympathy  of  the  French  Canadians,  which 
they  had  at  the  start.  The  Americans  showed 
plainly  their  contempt  for  'he  Roman  Catholic  re- 
ligion and  especially  for  its  priests.  Their  inability 
also  to  pay  good  money  was  a  source  of  weakness 
in  the  eyes  of  the  habitants,  who,  we  remember, 
in  the  old  French  regime,  saw  at  least  one  good  fea- 
ture in  English  troops— their  gold  coin,  which  the 
habitant  was  always  glad  to  get,  even  if  by  so  doing 
he  furnished  aid  and  comfort  to  his  country's 
enemy.  The  attitude  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop. 
Briand,  undoubtedly  did  much  to  hold  the  habitants 
to  some  sort  of  loyalty  or  at  least  neutrality  during 
the  struggle.  He  had  issued  a  maiidemcnt.  calling 
597 


Britisll 
reenforce- 
ments 
arrive  and 
Americans 
Hee 


Canadians 
Itept  loyal 
b)-  Bistiop 
BrianJ 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
attention  to  the  excellent  government  which  the 
Eng  ish  had  given  the  habitants,  the  hberahty  with 
which  tlie  practise  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
was  pennitte,!,  and  their  own  participation  in  gov- 
ernment, and  he  besought  them  to  join  "n  ^he 
attempt  to  repel  the  enemy. 

FRANKLIN    IN    MONTREAL 

^r  A  FEW  days  after  Arnold's  arrival  at  Montreal  in 
sio«.r,  un  April  three  commissioners,  appointed  by  Coneress 
on  I-ebniary  15,1,,  also  reached  that  city.  Theslcom.' 
missioners  were  Benjamin  Franklin,  San^uel  ChaTe 
of  Maryl.-.nd,  and  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton 
hose  signature  to  the  Declaration  of  Inde,>endenc; 
attract,  attention.  These  commissioners  had  l^en 
appointed  to  see  if  some  progress  could  not  be 
made  in  bringing  the  Canadians  to  the  side  of  Con- 
Charlsr     •\ru    «='^°'"P--'"ied  by  a  brother  of 

ward  th?^"  'p"'°  ^''%'  -'^'^""-  '"'^  ^'^"^^  after- 
ward he  first  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  in  the 
Lnited  States.  The  object  of  his  participation  i"  he 
expedition  was  undoubtedly  that  of  influencing  he 
said  totTh''"""  ""^'°"^  ''""'■  This  can  not  Ee 
the  r  ^  ^'  "'T  """"''y  '"^y  °f  bringing  about 
the  result  desired,  but  as  their  case  was  rather 
esperate   at   that   time,   the   .Americans   evident  y 

s...«..a   noss  ble     T.  '^"^'"'^^'"ners  used  all  arguments 

^'"  armVhtIi';,'''"/'"*''"''='y="^^«'*<''h\t  Can- 
be  .nde.  ada  might  be  allowed  to  retain  an  independent  posi- 
I-ou  m  Its  relations  to  the  rest  of  the  StMe 
They  were  received  very  cordially  by  the  peonle  of 
Montreal,  and  in  general  by  the  residents  ofTanada 
wherever  they  went,  but  the  mission  was  a  complet^ 
598 


be  iode- 
pendent 


ARNOLD  A\D    MONTGOMERY'S    INVASION 

failure.  They  were  compelled  to  report  to  Congress 
that  there  was  no  chance  at  that  time  of  securing 
the  moral  support  of  the  Canadian  people,  to  say 
nothing  of  their  active  assistance.  They  also  re- 
ported to  Congress  tlic  deplorable  condition  of  the 
troops,  and  secured  an  approjjriation  for  their  pay 
and  to  furnish  them  with  provisions  and  clothing. 

When  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  recnforcenients 
for  Carleton  reached  Montreal,  it  caused  the  utmost 
confusion.     It  was  .soon  determined  to  give  up  the 
entire  city  of  Montreal  and  the  posts  along  the  St. 
Lawrence,   but  to  make  a  stand  at  lle-au.x-Noix. 
Meanwhile  reenforcements  continued  to  arrive  at 
Quebec,  and  on  the  ist  of  June  General  Rurgoyne 
reached  that  port  with  seven  regiments  of  infantry 
and  four  companies  of  artillery,  as  well  as  the  Ger- 
man contingent.     The  ne.xt  week  Thompson,  who 
was  in  temporary  command  of  the  .American  forces 
at  Sorel.  made  a  foolish  attempt  to  recover  Three 
Rivers,  and  «,is  badly  defeated:  three  hundred  of 
the    Americans    were    taken    prisoners,    including 
Thompson  himself.     Burgoyne  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  advance  force  of  the  British  and  was 
already  showing  considerable  ability  in  the  handling 
of  troops  and  planning  a  campaign.     .After  the  de- 
feat at  Three  Rivers,  the  Americans  retreated  pre- 
cipitately to   Ile-aux-Noix,  and  after  a  brief  rest 
there  embarked  for  Crown  Point.    In  the  mean  time 
the  commissioners  had  preceded  the  army  and  were 
in   Philadelphia  making  their  report.     There  was 
just  enough  optimism  in  what  they  brought  with 
them  to  justify  Congress  in  sending  some  reenforce- 
ments.     Some    of    these    reenforcements    actually 
reached   the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  and   were 
599  Canada— 10  Vol.  II 


Burgoyne 
arrivCN. 
June  1 


The 

lericans 
retreal 


Carleton 
proceeds 
cautiously 


TIIK    TERCK\-TF,N-A,<V    HTSTORV    OP    CAXADA 
tiirne.!  back  by  the  arrival  of  tlie  rctreatiiifi-  Amer- 
ican force.    Otliers  pot  i„,  farther  tlian  Alhanv. 


ARXOr.D's 


nRILLIAN-T    RKTRKAT    O.V 
CHAMPI.AI.V 


SettinfT 
the  civil 
machiiicry 
lo  motion 


With  tlie  Americans  at  tlc-aux-Noix  and  prepar- 
!ns:  to  retreat  fartlier.  Carleton  felt  that  Canada  was 
actually  nd  of  invaders.     Yet  he  was  very  desirous 
of  dnvinp  them  even  farther  south.     He  could  not 
fio  this,   hotvever.  until   he  had  constructed  some 
boats  for  u  ,e  on  Lake  Champlain.    This  is  the  rea- 
son for  the  halting  at  that  point  of  his  campal  n 
which  w  •. :  severely  criticized.     He  reallv  felt  ve^ 
confident  of  the  success  of  his  southern  campaign 
wlien  once  he  could  get  it  started.     He  even  hoi>ed 
to  organize  the  Loyalists  of  New  York  into  a  battal- 
ion, and  received  authority  to  raise    "The  King's 
Royal  Regiment  of  New  York."    About  thi.-!  time 
aid  came  to  him  from  an  unexpected  source      He 
received  at  Montreal  a  deputation  of  300  Iroquois 
chiefs,  who  professed  their  loyalty  to  the  British 
cause,  and  offered  their  services.    A  short  time  aft- 
erward another  Indian  deputation  visited  Carleton 
at  Montreal,  consisting  of  Ottawas  and  other  tribes 
from  the  Huron  country  and  other  parts  of  the  Lake 
region.    He  did  not  accept  the  offer  of  service  from 
these  Indians,  although  he  had  authorized  the  Iro- 
quois to  be  rewuited  for  service.    Probably  Carleton 
was  very  doubtful  as  to  the  value  of  Indian  fighting, 
but  thought  a  few  Indians  might  be  worth  experi- 
menting with. 

Meanwhile  Carleton  had  not  neglected  the  civil 
go\-ernment.    Tiie  Quebec  Act.  as  we  have  seen,  had 
gone  into  efifect  on  May  1,  1775,  but  owing  to  the 
600 


ARNOLU  AN'D    MONTGOMERY'S    INVASION 

revolution,  it  had  been  impossible  to  set  tlie  machin- 
ery going.  Now  with  the  enemy  safely  banished, 
he  reestablished  in  ytiebec  a  coi-rt  or  justice  and  re- 
stored the  Legislative  Council.  Livius  was  ap- 
IKiintcd  Chief  Justice;  Southhouse.  who  had  Ijecn 
Attorney-General,  resigned  to  Ijccome  a  judpc.  and 
Monk,  from  Nova  Scotia,  became  Attorney-General. 

Durin'c  'ho  late  summer  and  the  early  fall  Carle-  ""'^'i  i'" 
ton  was  busily  engaged  in  making  preparations  fo,- """"«""'' 
the  expedition  on  Lake  Champlain.  Work  on  the 
boats  progressed  with  annoying  slowness,  so  that 
the  first  week  in  Octolxr  had  arrived  before  the 
start  could  be  made.  Scouting  i)artie5  had  been 
sent  out  to  learn  the  location  of  the  American  fleet, 
and  on  Octol^er  5th  the  British  vessels  left  St.  John! 
At  Ile-aux-Noix  the  guns  and  provisions  were  put 
on  l)oard,  and  in  a  few  days  the  fleet  was  on  Lake 
Champlain  looking  for  the  enemy.  This  fleet  con- 
sisted of  three  armored  schooners,  a  raft,  a  gondola, 
and  22  gunboats.  On  the  nth  of  October  the  first 
of  tlie  American  vessels  was  sighted  not  far  from 
Cumberland  Bay,  opposite  Graml  Island.  She  at- 
tempted to  escape,  but  was  unable  to  do  so,  ,ind  the 
captain  ran  her  ashore  on  the  east  of  Valcour  Island 
and  abandoned  her,  while  the  crew  made  their 
way  to  the  main  fleet.  This  fleet,  whiclT  now  American 
came  into  the  engagement,  consisted  of  three  row- ""' 
galleys,  two  schooners,  two  sloops,  and  eight  gon- '""'"""' 
dolas,  carrying  90  guns  in  all,  while  the  British  had 
87  guns.  Tlie  engagement  continued  for  two  hours 
and  was  a  decisive  firitish  victory.  The  strong  wind 
blowing  at  the  time  carried  the  British  schooners 
past  Valcour  Island,  where  the  American  fleet  was 
formed,  and  they  were  unable  to  return  for  some 
601 


ArnoMS 


THE    TERCENTEXARV    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

the  fighting  and  tl>ey  did  it  with  great  credit.  One 
o  these  gunboats  was  blown  up,  bnt  witl,  no  loss  of 
.fe.  Before  the  larger  war  vessels  cotd.l  return  to 
the  a  tack,  the  Br.tish  gunboats  had  run  out  of  am 
.m,n>t,on,  and  all  were  withdrawn.  Meantime  the 
Amencan  fleet  under  Arnold  had  been  badlv  inT.red 

and  It?,  cant  lire  seemed  rrrfain       \..  ^       ■ 

.1      T^  .  .  •^^-'-liict.i  tcriain.     As  eveninp"  ramp 

on  the  Bntish  boats  forn,ed  in  such  a  way  Ih^t  ^v 
ccnpletelv  surrounded  and  penned  in  the  A,n  r  c!' 
fleet  and  they  only  awaite.I  the  n,orning  to  renew 
the  attack  or  receive  the  surrender 
.  But  Benedict  ArnoI.I,  whatever  his  failings,  and 
hey  were  ,„any.  was  a  brilliant  tactician,  h;  de 
termn^ed  to  take  a<lvantage  of  the  darkness  and  es- 

even  .  W  'Tf  '"""'''  ""•''  '''^^'^  ^^^'"'=d  absurd 
even  o  hmiself,  yet  as  soon  as  <larkness  had  well 
settled  down,  and  in  October  it  comes  early  he  I^' 
gan  his  preparations  for  this  daring  cou/'  There 
was  just  a  narrow  interval  between  the  last  British 
gjinboat  on  the  left  and  the  shore.  How  narrow  S 
how  w,de  that  passage  was  we  do  not  know,  but  it 
eems  ,ncred,ble  that  even  with  muffled  oars  Arnold 
hould  have  been  able  to  row  fourteen  or  fifteen  ves 
sel-s,  SIX  of  them  ratlier  large,  right  l^tween  the 
e  emy  ^  hues  without  their  knowledge.    Surely  thei 

™;.:i'.  .,„  S^'f  •  Tlie  feat  was  carried  out  before  mi.Inight,  and 
davbr«.  "ofntd  daybreak  was  the  thing  discovered.  Itis  dif- 
ficult to  find  in  the  history  of  warfare  anything  that 
surpasses  th.s  stroke  in  daring  and  brilliancy.  True 
.t  could  not  have  succeeded  had  the  British  been  on 
the,r  guard,  but  in  warfare  the  stupidity  of  one's 
opponent  is  something  that  must  ahvays  be  counted 
602 


ARVOLD  AND    MOXTGOMERY'S    INVASION 
upon,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  discounted.    Carleton  c.,i«o,. 
was  in  a  great  rage  when  he  (hscovereu  that  Arnold '"  ■"'" 
had  got  away.    He  at  once  ordered  tlie  fleet  to  pur- '"""" 
sue.    Arnold  was  hound  for  Crown  Point,  meaning 
to  reach  it  and  turn,  the  guns  of  .lie  fo.t  upon  Carle- 
ton's  ships.    But  on  the  morning  of  the  13th.  before 
he  had  got  more  than  half-way  from  Valcour  to 
Crown  I'oint,  or  nearly  opposite  where  Split  Rock 
now  IS,  the  British  fleet  caught  up  with  him.    Firing 
began  at -once.     After  a  few  shots  it  was  apparent 
that  the  British  fleet  was  superior.    .Arnold's  largest 
ves.sel,  the  "Washington,"  surrenderetl,  and  he  ran  the 
other  vessels  ashore,  and  set  fire  to  them.    Marching 
as  rapidly  as  ixjssible  to  Crown  Point,  he  sn  fire  to 
that  also,  and  made  his  way  on  to  Ticonderoga. 

What  should  Carleton  now  do?    It  was  the  mid-cari.,on 
(He  of  October,  and  Ticonderoga,  to  which  Arnold's''"^"'""'" 
force  had  (led,  was  already  well  garrisoned  by  theTi."""" 
Americans   under  Gates.      To  make   a   campaign' 
against  that  fortress  with  the  two  or  three  thousand ' 
men   that  Carleton   had   would  1      e  been  a  very 
serious  undertaking.     It  was  certainly  a  debatable 
question,  and  Carleton,  who  could  seldom  be  criti- 
cized on  the  score  of  lack  of  energy,  decided  not  to 
make  the  attempt  to  capture  Ticonderoga  that  year. 
It  would  ha\-e  been  very  difficult  for  him.  after  cap- 
luring  it,  to  maintain  communications  with  Canada 
i.11  winter,  and  prevent  the  garrison  from  Ijeing  sur- 
prised and  taken.    On  the  other  hand,  of  course,  to 
have  taken  the  fortress  would  Itave  been  a  magnifi- 
cent stroke.    On  the  whole,  it  is  plain  that  the  man 
m  command  was  the  only  on.^  who  could  make  a  just 
decision  when  all  the  arguments,  pro  and  con,  were 
so  nicely  balanced.     His  decision  was  made,  not 


campaien ''""'" 

'^     o  .  and  retires 


CarlttonS 
decision 
carefully 
made 


delayed 
letter 


THE  TERCENTEN-ARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
without  investigation  ;ui<l  deliberation.  Boats  were 
sent  near  enough  to  Ticonderoga  to  !«;  fired  um.n 
and  the  strength  of  tlie  fort  was  seen  to  he  so  great 
that  jt  could  he  captured  only  after  a  lony- siege,  if  at 
all— a  scigc  which  very  likely  the  coming  of  winter 
woukl  terminate.  As  there  was  no  use' in  keeping 
Croivn  ['onit  since  no  buildings  were  there,  tliat 
place  was  also  abandoned,  ,ind  the  entire  force  re- 
tired to  St.  John's. 

CARLETON    SUPIiRSEDIiD   AND    RESIGNS 

During  the  summer  Carleton  had  received  several 
censorious  letters  from  Lord  George  Germain 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colo-iies,  but  confident 
of  the  value  of  his  services,  he  d  '  lot  dream  that 
there  was  any  serious  movement  against  him.  Yet 
while  he  was  doing  his  very  best  work,  Germain  was 
planning  to  humili:ite  and  supersede  him.  Carleton 
found  out  afterward  that  the  Mini-try  had  been  very 
much  dissatisf.ed  because  he  had  not  taken  Ticou- 
deroga,  but  according  to  Germain's  own  statement, 
hewrotcon  August  Jj.  1776,  to  Carleton  announcing 
that  Burgoyne,  or  some  other  officer,  was  to  be 
put  at  the  head  of  the  troops  in  the  campaign  of 
the  next  year,  which  was  to  be  made  against  New 
York. 

This  letter,  Germain,  who  was  notorious  for  his 
carelessness  about  letters,  said,  he  gave  to  one  of 
Carleton's  aides  to  be  delivered  to  him  at  once,  but 
that  this  aide  could  not  reach  Quebec  that  winter. 
The  American  colonists,  as  we  have  often  seen,  we-e 
very  fortunate  in  having  this  Ministry  to  direct  En- 
glish afifairs  at  that  time.  It  is  evident  that  when 
blunderers  hold  responsible  positions,  they  will  bluii- 
604 


AR.VOU)   AXD    .MONTCOMERVS    INVASION' 
(lor  not  only  in  a  few  things  but  in  many.    Burgoync 
lias  Im;cii  charged  uiih  Iwiiig  responsible  forthcshglil 
to  Carleton.  hut  he  (Iciiie.l  it  and  there  is  no  evidence 
to  show  tliat  he  had  any  hand  in  the  plot.     It  is  true, 
he  had  gone  to  England  for  that  winter,  but  if.  .is 
Germain  says,  his  letter  to  Carleton  was  written  in 
August,    certainly    Burgoyne   must   be   exculpated  ny,g<.v»= 
from  any  blame.     Possibly  Germain  did  not  know  7"° 
that   this   order   was   an   insult   to   Carleton.      He'""" 
claimed  that  he  merely  wished  to  leave  Carleton  in 
command  of  Quebec  as  Governor  while  the  Icadcr- 
•ship  of  this  e.\-pcditi(Mi.  which  was  to  go  clear  down 
to  New  York,  would  properly  be  given  to  another 
general  than  the  Governor,  who  could  not  be  spared 
from  Canaila. 

Carleton  had  planned  an  expedition  like  this  for 
t.iat  year,  but  he  had  no  design  to  go  further 
than  Fort  Edward  and  menace  the  settlements 
along  the  Connecticut,  as  well  as  organize  roy- 
alist troops  there.  Germain's  plan,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  to  send  this  expedition  under  Burgoyne 
to  capture  .\lbany  and  make  a  junction  with  Howe's 
forces,  which  were  to  come  to  Xew  York,  thus 
dividing  the  American  territory  in  two.  Of  tlie  two 
plans  undoubtedly  Germain's  was  the  better  but 
there  is  really  no  reason  why  Carleton  should  not 
have  been  put  in  command  of  it.  He  had  certainly 
earned  that  honor  and  could  have  bee.i  spared  from 
the  colony. 

At  any  rate,  it  is  well  known  that  for  some  reason'  G.r^.i, 
Germain  was  prejudiced  against  Carleton  and  had  p"'"'""<' 

— ■ "  against 

'  Germam  had  been  dismissed  from  the  army  in  disgrace  in 
1760  after  the  battle  of  Minden,  and  one  of  Carleton's  friends 
had  been  a  witness  against  him. 


against 
Carleton 


OcrsiAin'' 

poor 

rcMoni 


fiermain""i 
mastery  of 


THE    TERCEXTENAKY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 
detcrmine<l,  if  possible,  to  secure  his  recall     Such 
abbiinl   prejudice   was   to   be  expected    from   such 
a   A  uuster      1„  that  letter,  or  a   duplicate  which 
finally   reached   Carleton    in   i'-ebruarj',    1777    the 
general    plan    of    the    campaifiu    was    laid    down 
and  Larleton  was  informer]  that  he  was  to  retain 
5.770    men    for    the    defense    of    Canada.      This 
letter  to  Carleton  contained  one  passage  so  alvsnrd 
a.s   to  make   mipcrative    its   iJublication   as   ilkimi- 
natn.g  the  profun<lity  of  the  ignorance  of  a  British 
(-abmct   ofhcet.     lie   blamed   Carleton    for   Wash- 
niRtons    victory   at   Trenton   on   Christmas   nitht 
because  Carleton  had  retreated  from  T.conderoea 
allow.ng  the  American  tro<.ps  uear  Ticonder.ga  to 
joni  the  C(,ngress  forces  i„  New  York  an<l  ,„  New 
jersey. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  distance  between   Ti- 


majleryof  ,  "^''     "'C    UIMailCC     DetWecn      I  1- 

«aBr.ph.  conderoga   and   Trenton   is   alx>ut   300  mileo    and 
U,e  assumption  that  American  troops  coukl  get' from 
T.conderoga  through  the  woods  and  through  British 
ines    down   to    Trenton    in   time   enough   to   help 
Waslnngton  defeat  the  Hessians  is  so  absurd  as  to 
make  one  marvel  that  eve.,  such  an  ignoramus  as 
Oermam  could  have  conceived  it.     It  was  this  accu- 
sation  on  the  part  of  Germain   which  astonished 
Carleton  and  caused  him  to  protest.     The  letters 
which  he  wrote  to  Germain  make  very  interesting 
reading.     Germain  was  not  able  to  make  any  rci>lv 
worth  considering.    He  declared  that  he  had  no  per- 
sonal animosity  against  Carleton  whatever,  but  he 
ni  no  way  apologized  or  withdrew  any  of  the  offen- 
sive accusations  which  he  had  made.     Carleton  was 
very  loath  to  leave  the  colony  at  the  time  when 
he  felt  that  it  needed  him.  but  he  saw  that  it  would 
606 


ARN'OLD   AND    MONTGOMERY'S    INVASION' 

Iw  impossible  for  him  to  work  iiiuler  such  a  master,  c^-ir,™', 
and  so  on  June  -'71I1  he  resigned  in  a  letter  which '"""  , 
fairly  stiiifrs  witli  ri(rhtcous  rape  and  deserved  re-  -''dm 
proof,  one  sentence  k'ing:     "I  do  not  think  it  just 
that  the  private  enmity  of  the  King's  servants  should 
add  to  the  disturbance  of  his  reign." 


«m 


'■,  .tl 


CHAPTER   XXXIV 


u 


The 

Hessians 
with 
Burgoyne 


burgoyne's  INVASI0?J 

T  N  spite  of  his  letter  of  resignation,  which  was  of 
^  course,  accepted,  Carleton  continued  to  remain  in 
Canada  for  ,i  year,  assisting  General  Burgoyne  in 
every  possible  way.  Burgoyne'  arrived  at  Quebec 
on  May  6.  1777.  and  began  at  once  to  make  prepa- 
rations for  the  expedition.  There  were  to  be  6  840 
infantry,  of  which  the  Brunswick-  regiments  num- 
bered 3  116.  These  Hessians,  whose  participation 
m  this  war  made  that  name  proverbial  and  synony- 
mous with  hired  mercenaries,  have  in  recent  years 
had  their  connection  with  this  war  put  in  a  more 
favorable  light.  We  are  not  concerned  in  this  his- 
tory with  the  question,  but  we  must  feel  that  while 
these  troops  were  furnished  to  the  King  of  England 
because  of  his  German  ancestry  and  holdings  and 
because  it  was  customary  in  those  days  for  these 
soldiers,  not  being  needed  to  fight  for  their  own 


General  John  Burgoyne  had  had  a  ratlier  successful  mili- 
tary career  up  10  this  time,  although  his  advancement  had 
been  helped  by  the  Earl  of  Derby,  with  whose  sister  Burgoyne 
eloped  and  marri-d.  On  his  initiative  the  light  cavalry  was 
introduced  mto  the  British  army.  He  had  been  a  Member 
of  Parliament  with  excellent  promise.  After  the  Revolution 
he  became  a  successful  dramatist,  his  comedy,  "The  Maid  of 
Oaks,"  making  a  real  hit. 

£08 


BURGOYXE'S   IXVASIOX 

country,  to  fight  for  some  other  man's  country  for 
pay,  it  was  n  grievous  blunder  on  the  part  of  the 
King  and  his  ministers  to  accept  tlieir  services  in  a 
campaign  against  a  strugghng  little  people,  such  as 
the  Americans  were.  Hiring  them  "only  inflamed 
to  a  still  greater  extent  the  wrath  of  the  American 
colonists  and  probably  converted  thousands  of  doubt- 
ing ones  i  ito  partizans  of  Independence. 

Burgoyne  pushed  the  preparations  for  his  invasion  Th. 
of  New  York  with  great  energy  and  confidence.",'"'"";''" 
The  feeling  between  British  generals  and  officers  ^une™  ;„, 
was  excellent.    Carleton  visited  the  troops  at  Cham- 
bly  on  June  I  to  make  his  last  inspection  and  take 
leave  of  the  officers.     They  were  greatly  attached 
to  him  and  sincerely  regretted  that  he  was  not  to 
lead  them.     On  the  20th  the  troops  embarked  at 
Ile-aux-Noix.      At    this    time    his    command    was 
joined  by  a  small  body  of  Indians  to  whom  Bur- 
goyne made  an  address,  in  which  he  showed  utter 
lack  of  tact.     He  told  them  very  abruptly  that  he  The 
would  not  countenance  any  unnecessary  shedding  Jj^l,';;',"^ 
of  blood  and  that  women,  children,  and  prisoners" 
must  not  l)e  slaughtered.    In  other  words  he  made  a 
strong  attack  upon  the  barbarities  which  the  Indians 
were  so  fond  of  committing.     He  could  have  said 
this  in  a  very  much  different  way  and  obtained  the 
same  results.    At  any  rate  few  of  the  Indians  con- 
tmued  with  him  to  the  last.     They  kept  dropping 
away  until  by  the  time  he  crossi.d  the  Hudson  only 
fifty  remained  with  him. 

TICONDEROGA    TAKEN 

The  expedition  proceeded  up  the  lake  without  being 

molested  in  any  way.    On  the  morning  of  June  2f)th 

609 


THE   TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 
Crown  Point  was  readied,  and  there  a  halt  was 

f^LtreJ  °^'-  .  ^^'"  '"  '^^"y  -"^cks  that 

old  fortress  was  now  for  the  last  time  to  be  the 
scene  of  conflict  To  the  British  view  the  capture 
of  T.conderoga  looked  like  a  formidable  task.  It  was 
defended  by  twelve  regiments  or  about  four  o   five 

a.Tr"Tvr'"  '^'  '^°"™='"'^  °f  General  St 
Uair.    In  add.  .on  to  T.conderoga  another  fortress 

and  four  armed  vessels  were  anchored  between  the 

acoirnot     L~    Th^  Br.t.sh  advance  on  both   sides  of 
""""     mil  ^^"'f  ""''  well-defended  position  was 

when  T'T''-  ""^  ^''"^  '^^-^''d  Vntil  July/ 
^hen  he  fort  opened  up  with  heavy  artillery  on 
Frasers  brigade  on  the  right.  The'sritish  were 
unable  to  get  any  of  their  guns  in  position  to 
a«o,npI.,i    anything    until    a    happy   i!;:a    struck 

sZr  Sll  r^  °^  ""=  '^'■"■^^y  ^'"  be  seen 
bugar  Hill,  southwest  of  Ticonderoga,  an  eleva- 
^on  commanding  both  that  fort  and  Fort  Inde- 
pendence. It  was  plain  to  Burgoyne  that  the  St 
way  to  damage  the  American  forts  was  to  get  cS- 
rol  of  Sugar  Hill.  This  was  done  on  July  s  The 
heavy  artillery  was  set  up  in  positio'n  there  and 

«c.p.i„    ^^'^  \=P'  up  all  that  day  and  most  of  the  night 

""""■  GeLrlfst  "r'"^l":°'^«  i'  -^  di-^covered  Li 
General  St  Clair  and  h.s  men  had  abandoned  Ticon- 
deroga and  Independence  and  safelv  made  hdr 
escape  a  repetition  of  .Arnold's  ruse.  They  le 
W.ind  them  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition^artil 
'ery,  and  provisions,  in  the  capture  ,  i  which  the 
610 


BURGOYNE'S   INVASION 
British  exulted,  but   it  would  have  been  a  much  Bu.»oy„.', 
greater  victory  if  Burgoyne  had  captured  the  entire ''°°'"" 
garrison.    In  fact,  it  was  a  very  bad  blunder  that  he  "T"" 
allowed  It  to  escape.    This  point  has  been  lost  sight 
of  by  the  critics  generally.     From  that  time  on 
blundering  seems  to  ..ave  become  a  habit  with  him. 
He  had  issued  a  proclamation  on  June  30th  which 
was  bombastic  and  boastful.     It  did  him  no  good 
and  subjected   him  to  ridicule.    He  and  his  men 
seemed  to  have  conceived  the  idea  that  the  American 
troops  would  never  stand  against  them. 

Burgoyne's  first  movement  was  to  send  a  small 
force  under  Fraser  in  pursuit  of  tlie  part  of  the  gar- 
rison retreating  by  land.     They  liad  crossed  to  the 
east  side  of  the  lake  and  were  pressing  along  south 
Fraser  was  allowed  to  go  far  ahead  of  the  rest  of 
his  force,  so  (hat  when  he  caught  up  with  the  Amer- 
icans near  Hubberton,  he  found  that  he  was  greatly 
outnumbered.    He  sent  back  for  reenforcements,  and  Fra^r's 
when  they  came  drove  the  enemy  off  the  field    but  P'«ipi«" 
the  British  loss  was  considerable;  36  were  killed:,^", ul 
and  144  wounded,  a  loss  which  would  have  been 
largely  avoided  if  the  proper  force  had  been  des- 
patched ahead  in  the  first  place.     The  effect  on  the 
American  troops,  however,  was  demoralizing   and 
they  scattered  in  all  directions.     Undoubtedly  this 
advantage  was  not  followed  up  rapidly  enough  by 
Burgoyne,  and  while  he  was  taking  his  time  about 
5.000  Americans  under  Schuyler  were  gathering  at 
Fort  Edward.     Tliis  force  made  an  advance  alono- 
the  road  from  Fort  Edward  toward    ficonderoga 
and  engaged  the  British  force  at  Fort  Anne,  but  was  A..r,csns 
rieteated.     Schuyler  promptly  burned  Fort  Anne  and ''""' ''''" 
retired  to  Fort  Edward.    It  would  have  been  mudim".."' 
611 


A  side 
trip  lato 
Vermont 


n 
-• 


Fort 

Edward 

occupied 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
better  if  Burgoyne  had  gone  on  to  Fort  Edward 
then,  but  he  dallied  and  lost  more  time.  He  also 
sent  a  side  expedition  under  Riedesel  into  Vermont 
to  rally  the  royalists  there  and  to  attack  a  force  under 
Colonel  Warner,  but  Warner  retreated  to  the  south 
and  Burgoyne  would  not  allow  Riedesel  to  follow 
him.  So  the  expedition  returned,  its  only  result 
being  that  a  good  many  Vennont  royalists  who 
were  encouraged  by  the  King's  army  to  declare 
themselves  were  left  naked  to  their  enemies  by  the 
withdrawal  of  the  British  troops  and  were  perse- 
cuted and  in  many  cases  probably  ruined  by  the 
Revolutionists. 

At  length  Burgoyne's  advance  was  again  begun  in 
force,  Fort  Edward  was  abandoned  by  the  Amer- 
icans, and  on  the  31st  of  July  Burgoyne  reached  it 
and  took  command.  He  had  wasted  perhaps  two 
weeks  on  the  way,  but  he  could  not  be  criticized 
for  slowness  if  his  succeeding  movements  had  been 
energetic. 

lual"""  ,  '^''°"'  ""^  *'"i^  oc^^-red  the  murder  of  Miss 
McCrae  J^'ie  McCrae,  about  which  many  stories,  bad 
poetry,  and  much  fiction  have  been  written  '  It  is 
difficult  to  get  the  truth  about  this  unfortunate 
woman,  who  was  undoubtedly  killed  bv  the  Indians 
belonging  to  Burgoyne's  army.  She  lived  near  Fort 
Edward,  and  her  family  were  on  the  side  of  the 
Revolutionists.  She  i  erself  v\as  engaged,  however 
to  an  officer  in  Burgoyne's  army  named  Jones.' 
When  Burgo;-ne's  army  ?d\anced  toward  ^ort  Ed- 
ward, her  family,  along  with  the  other  Revolution, 
ist  families  in  that  vicinity,  retreated  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Albany.  Because  of  her  attachment  to  her 
lover  in  the  British  army,  slie  remained  behind.  But 
613 


BURGOYNE'S   INVASION 


MAP   OF    BURGOYNE'S    INVASION 
613 


Feeltnff  in 

against 
the  use  of 
ladistna 


Object  of 
Vermont 
campaign 


THE  TERCENTE.N'ARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
witli  this  advance  force  of  Burfroyne's  army  were 
some  Indians,  and  diey,  finding  no  one  at  home  but 
herself,  seized  her  with  the  alleged  view  of  bring- 
ing her  to  Fort  Edward.  On  the  way  to  the  fort 
they  got  to  quarreling  among  themselves  as  to  whose 
possession  she  was,  and  one  of  the  Indians  in  his 
fury  struck  her  dead  with  his  tomahawk.  A  great 
deal  of  popular  sympathy  for  the  American  cause 
was  stirred  up  in  England  as  well  as  in  America 
by  that  incident,  and  Burgoyne's  reputation  suffered 
correspondingly.  Gates  wrote  Burgoyne  a  savage 
letter  on  the  subject,  which  exaggerated  the  afJair 
inexcusably.  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  it  was 
Burgoyne  s  fault  except  that  his  Indians  were  not 
accompanied  by  regular  troops,  which  would  have 
been  a  difficult  rule  to  enforce  in  :t  forest  campaign. 

THE   BRITISH    DIS.\STER   AT    BENNINGTON 

On  the  9th  of  August  the  ad\ance  under  Eraser 
crossed  the  Efudson  River  and  made  its  way  to  Still- 
water,   Later  the  most  of  the  armv  were  transported 
to  that  place.    Now  ensued  a  period  of  inexplicable 
inaction,    A  good  deal  of  this  time  Burgoyne  spent 
m  planning  a  campaign  into  Vermont,    This  cam- 
paign had  two  objects.     One  was  to  reassure  the 
Loyalists   who  had   been  depressed  by   Riedesel's 
withdrawal,  and  another  was  to  get  control  of  some 
supplies  belonging  to  the  Americans,  stored  at  Ben- 
nington.   On  the  1st  of  August  the  exijedition,  num- 
bering 746  men,  led  by  Colonel  Baum,  set  out  for 
Bennington.    It  was  a  heterogeneous  company  con- 
sisting  of  Hessians  and  Indians,  and  Canadians  and 
Loyalists.     The  Hessians  were  the  butt  of  ridicule 
Ihey  wore  a   tremendously  heavy  uniform,   long 
614 


BURGOYNE'S   INVASION 

a  huge  hat,  and  a  big  sword.     Such  was  the  sort "'«'»" 
of  dress  whrch  a  third  of  this  party  was  to  wear  in  "°""" 
a  campaign  ,n  the  woods  of  New  York  during  the 
month  of  August  when  the  heat  was  intense. 

The  d..stance  from  the  Hudson  to  Bennington  was 
not  very  great,  about  twenty-five  miles,  and  there 
was  a  chance  for  success  if  the  party  had  been 
arge  enough.  But  apparently  ahiiost  no  pre- 
hminary  reconnoitring  was  made.  If  it  had  the 
party    would    never   have   set    out.      The    second 

whom  he  drove  off.  Some  of  the  prisoners  then  ■""•'■"'v 
taken  told  li.m  that  the  supplies  at  Bennington""""''"' 
were  guards!  by  about  i,8oo  mditiamen,  but 
hat  they  were  undisciplined,  and  inclined  to 
be  Loyalist  sympathizers.  Baum  expected  an  easy 
victory,  and  actually  believed  the  story  that  most 
of  these  militiamen  would  join  his  forces  when 
they  approached.  He  sent  word  to  this  effect  to 
Burgoyne.  The  neM  day,  however,  he  found  that 
things  were  much  more  serious.  He  reported  the 
presence  of  a  larger  force  at  BenmngtoV  than  he 
had  expected,  and  asked  Burgoyne  for  assistance, 

August  15th,  while  Baum  was  waiting  for  these  re- """=" 
enforcements  to  arrive,  the  Americans,  under  Gen-"'"' 
eral  John  Stark,  advanced  from  their  position  at 
Lenmngton  and  made  a  sudden  attack,  both  front 

fled  ?nl'  "'^"  ^r\    '^^'  ^^'"^'"'^"^  ^"''  Indians  „,...„ 
fled  in  a  panic,  but  those  ridiculous  Germans  with'^'^" 
their  heavy,  uncouth  uniforms,  although  surrounded'""""" 
■and    attacked    by   overwhelming   numbers,    fought 
Uke  heroes.    Baum  was  mortally  wounded,  andUie 


H' 


SllrJi'i 
status  in 
history 


Clieers  the 
Americani 


Blunders 
and  negli- 
(fence  of 
Burgoyne 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
dragoons  \v.>re  cut  to  pieces,  or  captured.  Only 
nine  of  tlicm  found  their  way  hack  to  Uurpoyne's 
camp.  It  was  hefore  tliis  fisln  tliat  Starl<  is  said  to 
have  told  his  men :  "We  sliall  eitlier  heat  the  British 
or  to-night  Molly  Stark  will  he  a  widow."  This 
story  IS  prohahly  not  true,  like  most  of  the  good 
stories  of  history.  With  Stark  .uhsequent  history 
we  are  not  concerned,  except  tliat  he  was  accused  of 
gOMig  mto  the  BritisI,  service  afterward,  and  his 
proi^rty  was  confiscated.  His  exact  status  is  really 
not  settled,  and  forms  one  of  those  puzzles  of  the 
Kevolution  around  which  controxersies  rage  even 
to  this  day. 

This  campaign  was  doubly  disastrous  for  Bur- 
pyne,  because  tlie  force  that  he  sent  to  help  Baum 
lost  Its  _  way.  and  when  it  did  find  the  American 
roops  ,t  was  badly  defeated,  374  of  them  being 
taken  prisoners.  But  aside  from  the  loss  in  numbers 
on  these  two  expeditions,  the  most  serious  result 
was  then-  moral  effect  on  the  American  cause. 
Burgoynes  rapid  advance  had  terrified  and  almost 
paralyzed  the  Americans  in  Vermont.  Now  that 
these  two  expeditions  were  defeated,  and  Burgovne 
was  seen  to  have  blundered  so  seriously,  a  reacSon 
set  m  and  the  Americans  everywhere  took  courage 
Bennington  was  the  first  signal  defeat  to  the  British' 

b  n?W  r  '"'"  ^^  ""  "^"^'"^  Burgoyne's  firsi 
blunder.  From  now  on  he  was  to  experience  noth- 
ing but  blunders  and  defeats. 

Vet,  asitle  from  all  the  blunders  and  negligence 
of  Burgoyne,  his  expedition  was  doomed  to  fail 
ivvo  circumstances  were  responsible  for  this  out- 
come, laying  aside  the  question  of  the  folly  or  ■ 
wisdom  of  Burgoyne's  actions  subsequent  to  the 
6115 


BURGOVXES    IWASION 

couragement  to  the  American  cause  by  that  battle  "'""""" 
The    whole    country    took    heart,    and    vo  umeer, 
poured  ,n,o  the  colonial  camps.     VVashin^to     ^ho 
ha    been  watch.ng  the  onward  sweep  of  Burgoyne 
vnh  grea    distress,  saw  as  quickly  as  those  Tlhe 
spot  the  chance  which  the  British  defeat  had  given 
h's  cause    and  promptly  took  steps  to  re,>el   Bur 
goyne's  further  advance.     He  sent  orders  to  two 
bn^ades   designed  to  opix>se  Howe's  at  ack  on  tLe 
H,ghlan<ls,    to   join    Schuyler   or   Lincoln's    force 
which  was  on  its  way  to  the  north.     But  by  the 

r    tle""T""'"^  ""'  ^°'  '°^^"-^  "  Chang 
was  made  in  the  command.     Schuvler  1,0.1  .„ 

enemies  in  Congress,  and  his  defl?.?£  Ce^^^.. 
had   injured   his   prestige,   so   after   his   plans     or '"""" 
opposing  Burgoyne  had  been  fully  a.hancec    Con 
forc^  "gT  "°7"  '"'''  '°  ---nd  the 'i 
came  to  A     ''''  ^T  ""''  ''''"^  ■"  England,  but 
came  to  America  when  a  voune-  niai,      uJ 

with  Cornwallis  in  Nova  Scot^fn    70,  a"    Z' 

NewV  ^  r"'  "■'"'  ''"^''°='^-  -  -Vain  if  t"e 
New  York  troops.  He  afterward  saw  ser,ice  in 
the  West  Indies,  and  became  major  i,  the  RovLl 
heTeftthe    ■'''"  "'^  '^^■'^"  ^^^  ^^^  -^  -led 

^'^:vSap:-:,---t^^^ 

a  fairly  competent  officer.  ^    ' 

WHY   THE    E.XPEOTTION    WAS   DOOMED 

wer? Kv'"''''''"^  ''"'^'■"P''  ^  "^^^'^  =t="ed  that  there 

were  two  circumstances  by  reason  of  which,  after 

017 


,1 


Tl 


with 

Buritoyr,.      gO>  "e 


^ 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
the  battle  of  Bennington,  Burgoyne  could  hardly 
have  won  under  any  circumstances.  The  first  one  has 
been  given— the  vigor  and  enthusiasm  of  the  Amer- 
ican.-, after  that  battle.  The  other  was  the  astound- 
mg  failure  of  the  plan  of  campaign  in  its  intelligence 
o?de,for  Jl^artment.  It  seems  incredible,  but  investigations 
cooptraiion  "'ive  slioun  clearly  that  no  orders  ever  were  re- 
■■'  How.  ceived  by  Howe  or  Clinton  to  cfx>perate  with  Bur- 
go>ne!  The  h.  tish  commander  at  New  York  was 
not  notified  that  Burgoyne  had  been  ordered  to 
make  a  junction  with  the  New  York  forces  at 
Albany!  Indeed,  at  the  very  moment  when  Bur- 
goyne was  leaving  Fort  Edward  and  advancing  to 
the  Hudson  country.  Howe  with  most  of  his  force 
was  on  the  water  entering  Chesapeake  Bay,  bound 
for  Philadelphia.  No  more  need  be  said  at  this 
time  of  this  terrible  blunder,  for  the  details  will 
appear  in  the  course  of  the  story,  but  the  reader 
ought  to  know  this  in  judging  the  actions  of  Bur- 
goyne. against  whom  so  much  odium  has  been 
directed. 

Another  contributing  influencL  to  Burgoyne's  de- 
feat was  the  failure  of  St.  Leger's  expedition.  This 
was  designed  by  Germain,  and  was  worthy  of  its  de- 
signer. It  consisted  of  about  600  British  soldiers 
under  General  St.  Leger,  and  started  from  Montreal 
m  June  for  Lake  Ontario.  At  Oswego  the  force 
disembarked,  and,  accoinpanied  by  a  few  hundred 
Indians,  set  out  to  reach  the  Mohawk  River  and 
join  Burgoyne  at  its  mouth.  It  was  an  impossible 
scheme,  and  the  force  met  its  defeat  in  an  attempt 
to  capture  Fort  Stanwix  on  August  6th.  Burgoyne 
knew  before  he  crossed  the  Hudson  that  it  had 
failed. 

618 


Ths 

St.  Leger 

tiasco 


BURGOYXES    INVASION 

Gates  si,pcr,c(lcn  Scluiyler  o„  A.iRust  aoth.  and 
advancc<l  from  the  junction  r,f  ,|,e  Albany  and  the 
Mohawk  where  the  army  ha<l  Ix^en  for  some  time 
cncami,ed  t<nvard  Stillwater,  where  Eraser's  men 
had  been  for  some  weeks,  bnt  which  thev  had  aban- 
doned before  }Jurgo,ne's  army  left  Fort  Edward 
ihat  event  occnrrcd  on  September  ,3th,  fonr  davs  ».r«.„„. 
after  Gates  Imd  arrived  at  Stillwater.    I'ndonbtedly  "T' "" 

Rub  con,  ami  after  that  time  his  doom  was  s«.led. 

that  nl.,!r"  7"'"">'.  "'"'■■'■=^«''  fo--  starting  from 
hat  pace  and  nskmg-  the  can.paign's  success 
by  so  domg.  feel  that  such  a  crit'icis^,  is  unTust 
Crossmg  the  liu.lson  and  starting  after  the  enemy 
mvolvec.  no  more  risk  than  had  appeared  in  the 
expedition  from  the  first.  If  that  act  was  over! 
venturesome,  so  was  the  whole  campaign.  He  did 
not  know  that  the  British  nnnistry  had  not  notified 
Howe  of  the  purpose  of  his  n,arcl,.  and  although 
before  he   left   Fort   E.lward  he  had   heard    from 

evidently  that  the  orders  had  been  misunderstood, 

^^ould  be  accomplished.     Then  too,  Burgoyne  him- 
self had  not  been  as  yet  defeated.     The  battle  ofExp.cca 
Beiuimgton   was  a   small  afifair.  and  he   felt  sure'"""""" 
that  w.th  the  whole  arn,y  under  his  eye  he  would 
muddle   through"   all   these   difficulties   and    win 
it  was  self-confidence,  egotism,  and  conceit,  but  if 
one  were  put  in  his  place  perhaps  one  might  have 
done  the  same.     Burgoyne's  plea  that  no  discretion 
had  been  left  to  hm,,  and  that  Germain  had  com- 
manded hmi  to  go  ahead,  is,  however,  a  weak  one, 
A  big  man  would  not  have  made  it.  but  the  average 


through" 


British 
heard  the 
American 


Tlir-  TKRCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
man  might  have  felt  the  force  of  that  order  very 
keenly,  ami  with  arguments  pro  and  con,  nicely 
balanced,  this  order  from  London  to  advance  might 
have  ti|,|K-d  the  scale.  But,  no  more  about  the  argu- 
ments; let  us  to  the  story. 

THE    DATTLE    OP   STILI,WATER 

The  passage  was  made,  as  we  have  said,  on  Sep- 
tember 13th.     That  an<l  the  next  day  were  s|x;nt 
ni  re-formmg  the  lines  and  prepari!:g  for  the  ad- 
vance which  kgan  on  the  jjth.     Three  miles  were 
made  that  day,  and  when  the  next  .-.loniing  came 
the  British  learned  that  the  Americans  were  but  five 
miles  away.     So  near  was  it  that  the  British  could 
plainly  hear  the  bugles  of  the  Americans.  A  recon- 
naissance in  force  was  made  by  Burgoyne  and  his 
generals,  but  no  enemy  was  found.     On  the  next 
ilay,  the  17th,  the  British  resumed  their  march,  and 
iTiade  two  miles.     Only  three  miles  now  separated 
the  two  armies.    The  next  morning,  the  i8th,  Amer- 
ican soldiers  appeared  in  considerable  nuiti'lx:r«  in 
the  woods  right  ahead,  and  the  British  then  knew 
that  a  collision  was  imminent.     In  spite  of  the  plain 
showing  of  strength  and   confidence  on   the  part 
of  the  Americans,  Burgoyne  on  the  next  morning 
because   the   British   pickets  reported   no   interfer- 
ence  and   no   enemy,  determined   to   continue   the 
sipl"l"r  "'''■'■'"'^'■-    No  sooner  ha.l  he  started  than  Gates  knew 
It,  and  prepared  to  re-eive  him.    About  two  o'clock 
m  the  afternoon,  the  first  encounter  took  place.     It 
was  against  the  British  left  in  the  woo<Js  near  the 
river.      The  contest   raged   all   afternoon,  and  al- 
though the  left  was  reenforced  several  times,  ami  the 
artillery  at  the  last  got  into  the  fight,  the  Ameri- 
620 


BURGOYN'E'S    rXVASION' 
can  attacking  force  was  much  larger,  perhaps  three 
^mes  as  large,  as  f  e   British.     lVK,r  ge.rralsl,  p 
Has  shown  m  thus  leaving  the  left   to  stan.l   the 

Bu    the  I)r,t,sh   remained  on  the  ground,  and  on 

v^LlT'™'"  V  n'"'  '  """'>■'  ^^'  "«=  Americans 
uti  drew.  >  et  Durgoyne  !,ad  re.dly  n,ade  little  or 
no  advance,  and  U,e  resistance  he  had  encountered 
was  from  a  s.nall  part  of  Gates's  armv,  which,  how 
W  '''l',,f  °"^  :,"""'«'•  ;<>  »t"P  Burgoyne's  whole 
,  r^'  p  ■  ''^'  ""  '^•'""^  "f  Stillwater.  Perhaps 
1,500  Bntish  were  engaged,  and  the  total  loss  was  the 

f,;:'"'"f     f  "■'   °^   "'='^'>'   Soo.     The    .\n,cricans 
herio  r  •  '^'^^  '"'"  '"«^''=^'='''  "^"f  "'^  '°'^"  of 
fieh     bu     .  'f  "°'  ^T'"-    ^'  "-^^  ""'y  •■'  'i"'e  bush  .  .o»a, 
tight,  but  It  was  a  bloody  one,  and  it  left  the  Brit- '"""""•" 
ish  very  fearful  of  the  morrow 

Now  was  the  time,  say  his  critics,   when  Bur- Wh, 
goyne  ought  to  have  retreated,  and   they  .leclare  ^■■-- 
on  beTinnm^  r''  °V""  '""•"^"'^  proclamation  r°;„., 
on  beg  nnmg  his  e.xpedition,  "This  ani.y  must  not 

i.d^^ard.  But  with  the  .\mericans  only  two  miles 
away,  how  could  he  have  got  back  to  Fort  Edwa  d^ 
The  chances  are  that  his  every  n.ovement  was 
closely  watched,  and  that  the  very  moment  he 
urned  would  have  been  the  signal  for  an  a  LiJ 
from  the  rear  upon  his  army,  the  verv  thing  Tha 
finally  <l,d  happen.     Another  thing  thai  made  Bur 

fdved  t"    r, '"""^'  ''-'''  '  '^'^■-  "•'-'■  he  r- 
cened   from  Clinton  on  the  day  after  the  battle 

announcmg  his  de-.erminatioi,  to  start  an  exS 

ZrXT  ""  ^'""'=.^"   ^°"^  -  'he  Hudson, 
ihere  was  no  promise  in  this  letter  that  Clinton 


'"'  "=''^•^'^■^^'ARv  >„sroRv  ok  cav.da 
would  asceiKl  the  river  t.   ai.  ^-^-^ADA 

like  many  anc4hersC,inent^'"^;  '"'  ^"^^o^"-- 
thing  better  than  thJtZs71T'''''f  '"''""''- 
hardened  n,en  know  one^r".  '"^  '"'"^^  ^°'^d- 
'o  the  cautious  m  n  tTe  rir'  ''?  ^''■"'  «-" 
'hat  this  demonstraton  ihTdr^^""  °^  '""^ 
away  from  Gates's  army  t^raLpT  '"°"?''  '"^n 
force  to  retreat  in  safety  j"  J  j  t^°>'"^^  "'hole 
see.  '■'■     ^t  U'cl  help,  as  vve  shall 

THE    POOLISH    BATTLE    OK    SARATOGA 

SL    the  nSntot  S""'^,h""*  ^"  ^^P^^'''-  "P 
-'^i-f    'hem  greatly^  ni7iaZ?LTT  '""  ^''--' 
■t  was  for  Ch-nton/wSh  hTs  sma7.'°"  '"P"""*'^ 
the  r,ver  far  enough  to  be  nf?  f"'  '°  ^''^'^"d 

goyne's  army.     That  Lter  L  7, '■'^'  '^^'P  '°  Bur- 
was  the  only  cheerful?     f    .'"'""''-  ^°'''"''' 

since  Fort  EdVaXtStt£  'S  *^'^^"  ^^^ 
were  made  by  Burp-ovn»  J  -^^  movement.» 

meantime  the  clSV^ir"''!^^^-    ''"  '"e 
critical.day  by  day     SunnliL       "7^  '^'^^'^^  '"o^e 
was  no  w^y  lo  replaceTh  „  T  ,"!>  '"^  "'"^ 
were  in  the  hospitTl  Md  on  Ik      f"  ''""'''"«^  '"«" 
rations   had   to'l!:\X:^  %t  °'  '"^°^'  "'^ 
greatly  from  the  lack  of  nV.       J    .  ^""^  ^"ffered 
Several  movemem:M  ferriittle    '"'  "'°'"  ™'^- 
serious  purpose,  .,.ere  mide  h     I   consequence  or 
at  this  time  and  some  e^cht   ^  ^"'•g-oyne's  forces 
---.  On  the  moving  oT^etfolttrl  "^'  P'"^' 
•^c,         out  on  a   foolhardy  expedition      ,'  ^"^^-^^'^  set 

62a 


M^ 


I, 


I''  !*  h 


*n 


■  f 


BURGOYNE'S   INVASION 
That  proposition  his  generals  promptly  dissented 
from,  and  ,t  was  abandoned.     The  new'one  turneS 
«U  to  be  as  fatal.    He  set  out  to  attempt  a  recon 
naissance  ,n  full  force.     His  ent.re  army  except  o"e 
reg,ment   accompanied  him,  along  with'somfln" 

much  of  «'h'=?,?""!"''""  '"'"''^  '""^  ^  ''^"le,  notTh.u,„., 
much  of  a  battle  ,t  .s  true,  but  the  concluding  bat-°"°^-' 
t  e  of  the  expedition.     The  encounter  took  place 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  ^e  fi^ht- 
Z  7"""^d  «11  the  rest  of  the  day.     Burgcfne 
soon  found  that  he  had  come  upon  the  whTof 

retre^ro;Te"hT.  ''■'"''  '""^^'^'^^  ^-  ^im  to 
^  whn.  if  had  st,rred  up  the  hornets'  nest, 

so  while  he  was  actmg  wholly  on  the  defensive 
he   was    compelled   to   fight    vieorouolv       t!        , 
attempt  to  support  a  thr^tened'S  £i,  i^"--- 
Fraser  was  mortally    mounded.     S.on  a  ter  "hit  ^.r, 
Burgoyne   seeing  that  he  was  in  danger  of  bline 

T^lo:^'  °^"1  '  '^'^''  ^^  ■'  was  made  "^ 
good  form.  The  Americans  rushed  after  the  re- 
r eatmg  force,  and  attempted  to  seize  the  BritLt 
^ntrenchments.  One  of  these  attempts  failed  S 
another  succeeded,  and  in  the  latter  General  BreJ 
man,  who  had   led   the  unfortunate   force  whkh 

Probably  the  only  thmg  that  prevented  the  anni- 
h.  at,on    of   the   British    force   was   the  darkncs 
Ihe  result  was  an  American  victory,  which  St 

foT^:  """  ^°'"'""'=  "  *'^"=  Americans  had  S 
for  some  unaccountable  reason  withdrawn  that 
evenmg  from  their  position. 


Canada  ^  I 


-:;   f 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 


■if'' 


ft   i  • 


:,f 


BURGOYNE    SAYS    "tOO    LATe" 

JonT     ^■^  "°w  required  very  little  acumen  on  the  part 
batue         of  any  British  officer  or  soldier  to  ^ee  that  this 
army  was  sure  to  be  overwhelmingly  defeated,  if 
not  captured.     The  British  had  lost  in  those  en- 
gagements   the    astonishing   total    of    1.216   men. 
The  proportion  of  killed  to  the  total  loss  was  ter- 
ribly   high,    for   353    men,    including   40   oflScers, 
had  fallen  to  rise  no  more.     Tlie  total  loss  of  the 
Americans  was  almost  as  great,  but  the  propor- 
tional loss  was  much  less.    To  re^.^'at  now  was  the 
only  ix)ssible  step  to  take,  and  at  dawn  the  next 
morning  the  :narch  north  began.     From  this  time 
onward   it   is  of  very  little  value  to   uMlow  Bur- 
goyne's  movements.     They  were  characterized  by 
hesitation   and    vacillation,  deplorable   and    almost 
incredible.     One  day  it  seems  as  if  he  was  on  the 
point  of  attempting  to  reach  Fort  Edward.    Some 
of  his  troops   under  Sutherland  had  already  crossed 
the  river  on  the  road  to  Fort  Edward,  but  were 
called  back.     At  that  time  a  few  American  troops 
were  at  Fort  Edward,  but  they  might  have  been 
^"/fZ:;'  "^r?"  °"''  ^"^  *«  P'-""^^  taken.    It  was  during  one 
of  these  nights  of  gloom  and  despair  in  the  amiy 
that  Burgoyne  gave  a  supper  to  hi,  officers,  where 
all  was  gay  with  women,  song,  wine,  and  laughter. 
This  in<lulgence  in  an  orgy  is  corroborated  b>-  sev- 
eral witnesses,  and  sheds  the  most  damaging  light 
on    Burgoyne's    character.     The    American   troops 
meanwhile  had  got  possession  of  Batten  Kill,  and 
from  It  r.'uired  a  destructive  fire  upon  the  British 
army.  sufferings  of  the  troops  now  had  re- 

doubled, ;!,.,    cold  at  night  being  very  bitter.     On 
624 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION 
the  t2th  Burgoyne  summoned  his  generals  for  a-r    ,    , 
conference,  to  decide  if  any  plan  except  surrende? 
could  reheve   n„,  of  the  present  terr.ble  s^^uS 

and  bag,     re  of  eveiy  description,  and  retreat  to 
Fort  George,  at  the  southern  end  ii  Lake  &orI 
wn    all  possible  speed.    The  other  officer  ^p^rov^d 
of  the  plan.    All  the  preparations  were  under  uav« 
Ten  oclock  at  night  was  the  hour  at  Sch  Z»- ' 
were  to  start.    R.edesel  at  that  hour  announced  o"^'"' 
fh:;^rastotrr->-    ^---resXld" 

.ftpt;-i:^ti^-^:ri::;,f- 

w.th  the  rather  clumsy  handling  of  th^  Amer  Ln 
army,  Burgoyne  might  have  reafhed  Fort  EdwTrd 
when  he  seemed  to  be  making  i„  that  direclir  '; 
he  might  have  reached  Lake  George,  as  Ried;sel 
wished  h,m  to  try  to  do.    But  it  is  notlikely  tl'a 
he  could  have  done  either  one  of  those  tS     I 
IS  more  than  probable  that  an  attempt  to  ^o  so 
would  have  simply  meant  more  men  kUled  on  bot^ 
s.des,  and  nothing  gained.    Fate  had  dealt  out  the 
cards  very  badly  for  Burgoyne,  and  his  Wundering 
only  served  to  show  how  consistent  fate  was  "n 
picking  out  the  proper  sort  of  victim  to  hum,  " 

^  n,  an^^ri^o^o'f  esrld'"""    ''°^   ^^hting^.^ 
trnr.n,  h..i  ul  "^   vigorous   American  '"""'-i 

tha  the  losttr  n:r%  l'^  *■""  '^^^  ^^e  timeo7r' 
tnat  he  lost  the  battle  o'  Stillwater  on  September^""'— 

>n  the  Lnited  States  and  Canada,  declare  that  Bur' 

we  have  seen  of  his  campaign,  it  is  evident  that 

&2S 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

this  impression  is  not  a  true  one.  Up  to  the  very 
last  he  had  some  hopes  of  being  able  to  accomplish 
the  object  for  which  his  expedition  set  out,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  last  and  decisive  battle,  of  all  was 
the  result  of  a  reconnaissance  on  his  part,  not  an 
attack. 

It  would  have  taken  a  great  many  circumstances 
to  change  Burgoyiie  from  vanquished  to  victor  in 
this  campaign.  One  would  have  had  to  make  the 
man  over  again,  i)erhaps;  but  the  fact  is  that  no 
one  except  with  the  military  genius  of  Napoleon  or 
Wellington  could,  under  the  circumstances,  have 
won  that  campaign. 

THE    CAPITULATION 

ukrr/  '^"^  °"'y  "''"«■  "°"'  '°  '^°  af'^r  Burgoyne's  deter- 
biame  mination  not  to  retreat,  was  to  treat  for  surrender. 
Again  he  called  a  council,  and  then  his  generals 
declared  that  if  he  saw  the  possibility  of  cutting 
his  way  through  they  were  willing  and  ready  to 
attempt  it.  The  conference  had  no  result,  except 
that  Burgoyne  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  took 
upon  himself  all  the  blame  for  the  situation,  but 
the  consensus  of  opinion  was  that  a  truce  should 
be  asked  to  provide  opportunity  for  negotiations 
for  surrender.  The  next  morning  this  request  was 
made  and  granted,  and  commissioners  on  both  sides 
DiKUMine  were  appointed,  and  conferred.  The  terms  asked 
by  Burgoyne  were  rejected  by  Gates,  and  Gates's 
counter-terms  were  so  severe  that  they  could  not  be 
accepted.  On  the  next  morning,  however,  Gates 
sent  word  that  he  had  changed  his  mind,  and  would 
agree  to  Burgoyne's  terms.  About  the  same  time 
news  reached  Burgoyne  whicli  explained  Gates's 
626 


BURGOYNE'S   INVASION 

which  he  had  sent  to  the  commander  at  New  York  """""»» 
after  the  battle  of  Stillwater,  had  sent  three  thou.n 
sand  men  up  the  Hudson,  and  captured  Fort  Mont- 
gomery and  Fort  Clinton.     Some  of  the  British 
boats  ascended  the  river  as  far  as  Esopus  Creek. 
and  bt,rned  the  town  there.    This  was  onlVsixtv^^ 
ni.les  frot:^  Albany,  and  served  to  alarm  ihe  Amer^ 
.cans  of  that  reg-ion  and  to  cause  exaggerated  re- 
ports to  reach  Gates  and  his  army,  leading  them 
to  assume  that  the  whole  British  force  from  New 
^ork    was   actually   on   its   way   to   relieve   Bur- 
goyne    whereas  the  British  force  which  had  cai> 
tured  Fort  Montgomery  and  Fort  Clinton  return^ 
unmedrately.     On  the  receipt  of  this  informatio^ 
Burgoyne  was  ,n  much  the  same  quandary  as  Rame- 
say  was  after  he  had  entered  into  negotiations  with 
Townshend  for  the  capitulation  of  Quebec,  and  had 

inl^'T''  "'■'^■'^  '^°'"  ^-^---i'  -'  to  sur 
ever    o!,'rv      '"T  •^""'^"'",^'a"«=-    Ther^  was,  how-cap„„,.. 
ever,  only  one  honorable  thing  for  Burgoyne  to """  "f"'^' 
do    and  that  was  to  surrender  as  he  had  Tered   "■'"■ 
o  do,  and  after  much  hes.tation,  which  reflects  lit- 
tle credjt   upon   him,   he  at  length,   on  the   i6th 
of  October.   1777,  srgned  the  capitulation. 

cloa  Iv  tTT"".  """^  "°^"™'"'  ""^  ^^'«  prin-iu,.™ 
Brft   h   f  '  Americans  should  g..arantee  the 

Br.t,sh  free  passage  to  Great  Britam,  Canadians 
bemg  allowed,  of  course,  to  return  to  Canada,  and 
that  the  trooi^  should  march  out  with  all  the  hon- 
ors of  war.  The  number  of  men  surrendered  4s 
about  s,ooo  and  the  numbers  of  the  victoriou^ 
army  which  had.  of  course,  grown  greatly  in  the 
past  few  days,  with  the  assurLe  ofTto^,  wl« 


The 
Americans 
break  f 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
over  20,000,  besides  numerous  camp  followers. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  what  an  impossible  proiwsi- 
tion  it  was  that  Burgoyne  faced.  Assuming  that  he 
had  7,000  men  when  he  set  out  from  Fort  Edward, 
it  is  practically  certain  that  an  American  army  had 
been  gathered  together  at  that  time  which  was  twice 
as  large.    No  further  comments  are  necessary. 

ricn,  '^''^'■^  .^^'^'■^  ^  8^°°*'  '"=*"y  actions  by  Congress 
t  faiih  during  this  time  of  which  Americans  to-day  can  not 
be  especially  proud.  One  of  these  had  to  do  with 
the  breaking  of  Burgoyne's  terms  of  capitulation. 
As  we  have  seen,  one  clause  of  these  terms  was  that 
the  surrendered  English  should  be  transported  to 
England.  This  was  not  done.  Most  of  them  were 
kept  in  prison  at  Boston,^  and  afterward  in  Vir- 
ginia. The  only  attempt  to  justify  this  breach  of 
faith  was  that  the  terms  of  the  surrender  were 
too  favorable  to  the  British,  but  this  does  not  excuse 
violation  of  articles  of  war.  It  is  true,  there  was 
a^boufcoiL  ^°™=  quibbling  about  colors,  and  undoubtedly  Bur- 
goyne hid  his  Hags,  as  did  Levis  at  Montreal,  so 
that  they  would  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
but  this  was  a  small  matter,  and  the  keeping  in  prison 
of  the  large  force  of  men  who  had  been  guaraji- 
teed  their  liberty  was  dishonorable  to  the  Ameri- 
cans. It  was  possibly  legal  inasmuch  as  Congrp..: 
had  a  right  to  approve  or  disapprove  of  any  con- 
vention made  by  generals.  But  the  e.\ercise  of  that 
right  in  this  case  was  indefensible. 

Every  one  knows  that  the  chief  effect  of  Bur- 
goyne's surrender  was  the  ai;.ance  of  France  with 
the  United  States  in  the  following  year.    The  atti- 

'One    of   the    streets    of    Cambridge,    Massachusetts,    was 
named  after  the  Iies5i.in  general,  Riedesel. 
628 


BURGOYNE'S   INVASION 

Frend!  ^,2T  T'u""« '^  ''"^'''-  ^P '« 'h'^  time  the  a,„„„ 
1-rench    eaders  held  off  because  they  did  not  wish""" 

cTJ'n  ■?''''  ^"'''"'  '^"^  "°^^  ""=>'  believed  thatrT:: 
Oreat  Bntam  was  surely  beateu  a.ul  practically 
rumed  and  that  French  invasion  of  England  2 
poss,ble,  So  the  British  were  confroid  frTm 
this  tune  onward  by  France  as  well  as  the  United 
States,  an<I  ,n  the  next  year,  June  i6,  ,779.  Spain 
dec  a,ed  war  ajrainst  Great  Britain.  So  plucky  vv^ 
hat  coun  ry  under  these  burdens  that  one  year 
later  she  declared  war  against  Holland,  thus  fight- 
nig  three  nations  and  thirteen  rebellious  colonies 
at  the  same  time. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  the  course  of  the 
war.     Indeed,  we  have  not  done  this  so  far  excent 
as  ,t  concerned  Canada,  and  Canada's  interest  in  the 
contest  from  now  on  was  a  ^•ery  quiet  one.     Just 
before  Burgoyne  s  surrender  an  attempt  was  made 
Dy  the  Americans  to  capture  Ticonderoga   Fort  Ed- 
ward having  already  been  occupied,  but  the  900  men 
winch   Burgoyne   had  left  there  made  so  stout  a 
resistance  that,  with  the  approach  of  winter,  the 
besiegers  were  comi>elled  to  desist.    Soon  after  the  n.u.u 
news  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  reached  the  fort  ''^""'" 
thTlT'  ■^''=°"<?^^°g*  "'•■'=  abandoned,  and  with  krtZ"" 
the  entire  British  control  of  the  Champlain  region  ""■■«• 
It  was  about  the   1st  of  November  when  Ticon- 
deroga was  given  up,  and  the  whole  fort,  barracks 
and  block-houses  were  burned,  and  never  since  have 
been  rebuilt.' 


Of  old  Fort   r.conderoga  now  there  remain  only  broken 

wals,  but  ,t  ,s  a  well-marked  .pot,  situated  on  an  eminence 

and  near  beautiful  summer  resorts,  and  is  cherished  by  the 

thousand,  of  people  who  yearly  visit  it  because  of  the  many 

629 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 


•:? 


THE    ESTABLISHMENT   OF   COURTS 

^'°'"^  '"  ^^""-^  '^^  fiphtinf?  was  g,  iiifr  on  Ijetween  nurgnyne 
I^LIZ  =>"''  'he  Americans,  ihe  civil  government  of  Canada 
was  beinsr  perfected.  The  Legislative  Council 
met  in  the  spring  of  that  year  ( 1777)  for  the  first 
occasion  wlien  anything  tangible  was  accomplished. 
Its  act.s  comprised  chiefly  the  necessary  creation  of 
courts  of  justice.  A  militia  act  was  also  passed,  by 
the  provisions  of  which  cverv  Canadian  was  liable 
to  military  duty.  A  number  of  other  important 
ordinances  were  passed,  all  in  the  line  of  better  gov- 
ernment. ,M)out  the  inauguration  of  these  courts 
there  was  the  usual  and  most  regrettable  conflicts 
of  authority. 

".«°.?'  .  ^'"  London  Government  appointed  men  to  office 
poinimtnu  }"  Canada  against  the  wishes  of  Carleton  and, 
in  general,  of  most  of  the  residents  of  Canada.' 
This  was  most  unfortunate,  because  Carleton,  pre- 
suming that  his  recommendations  would  be  en- 
dorsed without  question,  had  already  appointed  and 
mstituted  judges  and  other  officers  whose  tenure 
of  office,  of  course,  expired  when  the  appointments 
from  London  arrived. 

One  of  the  chief  sources  of  the  trouble  lay  in 
the  Chief  Justice,  Livius,  who  had  had  a  rather 
unsavory  reputation  in  New  Hampshire  and  whose 
after-career  in  Canada  was  full  of  rebellion  and 
impertinence.     The  details  of  his  acts  show  how 


fierce  engagements  which   have   been    fought   there  and   the 
heroic  figures  which  have  moved  about  it.     Its  ruins,  visible 
from  the  train  or  the  Lake  Champlain  boats,  are  most  pic- 
turesque and  romantic,  especially  in  the  moonlight. 
630 


BURGOYXES   I\VASrO>J 

tl  s  cntical  „„„t  ,n  the  colony's  history.     Carleton  '""^"^'^ 
after  eml.r.ng  a  great  .leal   from  hi,,  ,  su       „led 
h.m  on  May  8,  ,778,  a  little  less  tl..„  a  mom    t 
fore  the  Governor  left  for  home 


631 


C'lAPTRR    XXXV 


HlldlBW 
irriTca, 

June  16, 
i77fl 


The 

c  veer  of 

Haldim&nd 


THE    FICHTINl;    IN    TIIF    -.VEST 

d  pREDERlCK  HALDIMAND  had  been  ap- 
■»■  pointed  Carleton's  successor,  and  r.'adied  Que- 
l)cc  0,  June  -f.tli,  taking  office  the  next  ,,-.y  Carle- 
ton  V  ,th  his  inniily  left  for  Europe  in  'the  same 
vessel  which  had  bro^ii^ht  Hal<hnian<l.  It  i,  hardly 
necessary  at  tliis  point  to  pay  tribute  to  the  work 
that  Carleton  di,I  for  Cana.la.  The  record  which 
has  l)een  given  so  far  is  all  so  favorable  to  him  that 
no  other  tribute  is  necessary;  furthemiore,  this  term 
of  office  does  not  close  Cnrlcton's  services,  and  in 
his  later  term  we  shall  f^nd  occasion  to  speak  more 
at  ength  of  his  work  as  a  whole.  Germain,  who 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  undoing  in  Canada  and 
of  the  Burgoyne  disaster  as  well,  was  angry  because 
the  King  honored  Carleton  with  a  knighthood  on 
his  return,  .,nd  resigned  on  this  account,  but  tho 
l\ing  persuaded  l-.im  to  remain. 

Of  Haldimand  we  have  read  little  that  was  not 
good.  Like  his  comrade,  Bouquet,  he  was  bom  in 
Switzerland.  He  had  known  service  in  America 
both  in  the  campaign  with  Braddock  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  and  for  a  brief  space  of  time  in 
the  preliminary  stniggles  incident  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  but  during  almost  ail  of  the  period  of 
that  war  np  to  this  time  he  had  been  Inspector-Gen- 
632 


THE    l-IGMTING    IS    THE   WFST 
eral  in  the  West  [n.liM.     The  nile   «l,i.|. 


^.11 


DANGER    FROM    THE    FRENCH    ALL 


M  i- 


It  was  not  a  liappy  ,i,ne  for  Car-l- 

^ance  w,th  the  Unite.l  States      t ,  Octn  Jr         ."-^' 

s=  ^'^s^rriK  ?'H  ?r  ■' 

.t  was  in  a. e„.ee  offensive  r;;:rn.^r'S:;; 
He  was,  to  hie  ■'ure    f!,-r)it,-„„         ■  •'h'^<^-«<'eal.  wa,h 

--c,incaseF.„c„„,en,jt^,::i'S;:,5;,;^ 


The 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Canada.  Lafayette  proposed  tliis  invasion,  and 
Congress  favored  it,  but  Washington  secured  its 
defeat.  It  is  hardly  open  to  question  that,  if 
D'Estaing  had  sailed  with  his  fleet  and  a  rea- 
sonably large  army  to  Quebec,  he  could  have 
captured  it.  And  so  we  may  rightly  say  that 
Canada  is  English  to-day  not  only  because  of  the 
vigilance  and  wisdom  of  Carleton  and  Haldimand 
but  also  because  of  the  statesmanship  and  sagacity 
of  Washington. 

Haldimand's  work  in  Canada  was  thoroup-h. 
iiia«»c:r.,  "^c  made  extensive  preparations  against  the  pro- 
J>.ir,.7;e  posed  invasion  of  which  we  have  just  spoken.  He 
strengthened  the  western  forts,  sending  troops  out 
as  far  as  Michilimackinac  to  the  north  and  Vin- 
cennes  to  the  west  and  south.  It  was  during  his 
first  few  days  in  Canada,  that  the  famous  attack 
on  the  peaceful  valley  of  Wyoming  occurred.  This 
expedition  was  sent  out  from  Niagara,  and  con- 
sisted of  500  rangers  and  Indians.  It  reached  the 
Wyoming  valley  of  New  York  the  first  day  of 
July,  and  butchered  the  inhabitants  and  the  Ameri- 
can troops  without  mercy.  English  writers  have 
attempted  to  justify  this  inhuman  massacre,  but  it 
is  not  eveti  as  justifiable  as  the  expulsion  of  the 
Acadians.  It  is  not  known  on  whom  to  lay  the  re- 
The«.  sponsibility  for  this  massacre.  The  expedition  set 
«^p°l!lrf'"'  ?"\  ""^^"  some  sort  of  orders  from  Carleton,  but 
it  is  inconceivable  that  he  should  have  designed 
such  inhuman  conduct.  This  butchery,  however, 
did  not  justify  the  action  of  the  Americans  in  later 
reenacting  its  scenes  on  the  Upper  Susquehanna  at 
Unadilla,  or  the  succeeding  destniction  of  Cherry 
Valhy,  in  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  by  another 

e34 


835 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
English  expedition  under  Brandt.    That  war  is  hell 
every  one  knows,  but  the  destniction  and  slaughter 
of  prisoners  and  the  refusal  to  give  quarter  go  be- 
yond the  pale  of  even  this  hell  of  civilization. 

GEORGE    ROGERS   CL.^RK    AND   TH'-:    WEST 

."mTllo"'  ^^"^  ^^''^  interesting  event  of  this  year,  1778,  was 
Col.  Henry  Hamilton's  e.\pedition  to  Vincennes.    He 
had  been  sent  out  from  England  iiy  Germain  as 
;  'eutenant-Governor  at  Detroit.    He  was  very  anx- 
i.^i,  to  make  a  reputation,  so  he  proposed  to  Haldi- 
mand  that  he  take  Fort  Pitt,  which  had  been  oc- 
cupied by  the  .Vmerican  troops  for  some  months. 
Haldimand   frowned  upon  this  proposition,  as  he 
did  not  consider  Fort  Pitt  worth  taking,  and  that 
scheme  had  to  be  given  up.    A  short  time  afterward, 
however,  Hamilton  got  his  opportunity  through  the 
operations  of  one  of  America's  foremost  pioneers, 
George    Rogers   Clark.     It    is    hardly    within    the 
provmce  of  Canadian  history  to  give  in  detail  the 
story  of   this   fascinating   backwoods   leader.     He 
had  lef '  Pittsburg  with  300  men  and  finally  reached 
Kaskaskia,  now  in  Illinois  on  the  Mississippi  below 
St.  Louis,  which  he  captured  without  much  opposi- 
tion.    From  Kaskaskia  be  proceeded  to  Vincennes, 
or  Fort  Sackville,  on  the  Wabash  River,  in  what  is 
now    Indiana,   and   through   the   connivance   of   a 
priest  that  fort  was  easily  taken.    Thus  the  Ameri- 
cans had  in  a  few  weeks  got  control  of  Illinois, 
«'".t  ,hr«  l^"'''^'"-   =>"<'   "'^   OI"o  country,   all   through   the 
SUM.        bravery  and  dashing  leadership  of  one  man.     Ham- 
ilton at  Detroit  fel»  that  the  recapture  of  Vincennes 
was  imperative.    He  was  encouraged  bv  Haldimand 
to  undertake  the  expedition  and  started  with  500 
636 


THE  FIGHTINO   IN  THE  WEST 
men  on  October  7th.     The  expedition  .vas  unfor- 
tunate from  the  beginning.     Storms  came  up  and 
diy,ded  the  boats,  and  the  cold  weatl,er  re<iuce<i  the 

woods  and   by  the  streams   until   Vincennes  was'"">  ■^''" 
Thet  wt"'^  T"'"^  °"  '^'  '7th  of  December  DrX' 
t„™,!.7  V  f^,""  ^^^'^*^"<^^.  for  Clark  had  re- -"» 
turned  to  Kaskask.a  and  the  garrison  consisted  of 
m,ly  a  few  men.     Having  so  easily  taken  this  fort 
Hammon  was  anx.ous  to  take  Kaska^kia  also,  bu 

L  fo«  ".n  f  T"'  "^•'  "^^  "^='^'*^  -'  ^-^ding 
abandon  h^«  ""l  ^"^  "  '''^"^'^^  ^°"'i^"^^  >™  to 
iorlZ  ""  T  ""'"  ^P""^-  This  was  un- 
fortunate in  several  respects.     Without  figfiting  or 

cn^T,  '"!^^''  ''■^  '"^"  ^'■^^  restless  and  ^hs' 
contented  and  a  .umber  of  them  asked  and  were 
given  perm.ss.on  to  return  to  Detro.t.    For  several 
months  Clark  at  Kaskask.a  labored  under  the  We 
hat  he  was  still  in  command  of  Vincennes    tu 
trough  some  deserters  in  February  he  learned  0 

a  Bntish  flag  to  float  m  his  neighborhood,  so  he 
at  once  began  to  gather  a  force  to  retake  VincenneT 
M  .  lungsford  in  his  admi,^,e  "History  of  Can: 
ada,  says,  very  gingerly,  that  Clark's  "march 
had  jts  pr.vat.ons  and  was  atte.ided  with  that  de- 
sSn."    '''■'"^'  °'  ^"'"""^^  '^="'^^-  f-  ''that 

nhtt  "  '"^!.*",°^  ^^"' ''  '^"'  °"«  °f  the  most  daring  a 
pK.cky   and  phys.cally  exhaust.ng  exped.t.o«s  evf  r"-"' 
'Ilf^'iil^l^lf^   ^^  ^oon  as  he  arrived  in  the'""™" 

js„  Theodore  R<^'^^^'^ii'r^'m;;;i;;r;[^^ 
637 


Hamilton's 

bumilia- 
tions  and 
lutrdlbips 


Cnicl 
treatment 
In  Virginia 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

neighborhood  of  Vincennes,  some  of  the  Americans 
in  the  fort  began  to  desert. 

On  the  23(1  of  Febniary,  1779,  Clark  called  ii[K)n 
Hamilton  to  surrender.  Against  Clark's  170  men 
Hamilton  had  only  a  handful  on  whom  he  could  rely, 
so  he  was  compelled  to  agree  to  the  capitulation  and 
the  fort  was  given  up  on  the  25th.  This  capture 
was  accompanied  by  brutal  acts,  several  of  the 
Indians  in  Hamilton's  party  being  killed  either  by 
mistake  or  by  treacheo'.  The  return  of  the  cap- 
tured garrison  to  Virginia  was  attended  by  great 
hardships  and  suffering.  Part  of  it  was  made  on 
the  Ohio  and  part  overland.  The  total  distance 
traversed  was  1,140  miles,  and  the  misery  of  the 
prisoners  as  well  as  the  escorts  may  be  imagined. 
Hamilton  was  treated  with  conspicuous  inhumanity, 
being  handcuffed  and  confined  in  a  dirty  and  dis- 
agreeable prison  at  \\'illiamsl)urg,  Virginia.  Letters 
passed  between  HaUlimand  and  Washington  on  this 
subject,  and  within  a  year  Hamilton  was  exchanged. 
The  cruel  treatment  which  he  received  in  Virginia 
was  due  undoubtedly  to  Jefferson's  orders.  In  a 
proclamation  issued  by  the  provincial  council  at 
Williamsburg  and  approved  by  Jefferson  as  Gov- 
ernor, it  was  directed  that  "Prisonei-.s  of  war  should 
be  put  in  arms,  confined  in  the  dungeon  of  the  public 
jail,  debarred  of  the  use  of  pen  and  ink  and  paper, 
and  excluded  from  all  converse  except  with  their 
keeper."  This  was  certainly  not  Christian  treat- 
ment, and  undoubtedly  received  the  reprobation  of 
Washington.  Poor  Hamilton  had  more  troubles, 
even  after  he  signed  the  parole.  He  was  compelled 
to  pay  four  hundred  dollars  for  a  vessel  from  Vir- 
ginia to  Xew  York  in  October.  He  remained  in 
638 


THE  FIGHTING  IN   THE  WEST 

that  city  the  rest  of  the  winter  and  did  not  reach 
England  untd  the  2ist  of  June,  1781. 

Various  encounters  between' the  rival  forces  took  R.id. 
place  m  the  Ohio  River  country  until  the  verv  endT",' 
o    the  war.     Indeed,  fi^htin;,  continued  there  long     """ 
after  it  had  ceased  in  the  main  field  of  contest     This 
-s   characteristic  of  the   frontier,   where  always  a 
fiercer  loyalty  bums  than  in  the  settled  and  triore 
cosmopolitan  and  civilized  centres.    One  of  the  most 
famous  of  these  encounters  followed  a  raid  by  a 
force  of  V.rgmians  from  Fort  Pitt  under  Colonel 
Crawfonl  upon  San.lusky  in  the  spring  of   ,78-. 
Sandusky  was  defended  by  a  force  of  Rangers  and 
Indians  under  a  Captain  Caldwell.    The  fight  wa, 
nll^f  7^  ^nd  began  one  aftem(x,n,  ceased  with 
nightfall,  only  to  be  resumed  at  dawn,  and  continued 
until  another  nightfall.     It  was  a  decisive  British 
victonr  except  that  the  Virginians  got  away.    In  the  a-.hc... 
pursuit  five  officers  of  the  American   force  were":'"!" 
captured,  and  the  Indians  burned  Colonel  Crawford 
and  two  captains  of  that  force  at  the  sta..e     The 
British  reported  that  they  were  unable  to  restrain 
the  savages,  but  this  is  no  excuse  at  all.    Caldwell 
later,  took  the  initiative,  and  for  that  year  pretty 
well  cleared  of  American  troops  the  region  which  is 
now  Ohio     An  American  expedition  from  Albany 
under  Colonel  Willett,  undertaken  in  February  of 
the  next  year  against  Oswego,  conspicuously  failed 
It  was  started  in  a  decidedly  picturesque  manner 

t'^t'  ^'"f  'T''''"^  *°  ^"y  *e  600  troops  along 
the  Mohawk.  But  the  party  got  lost,  news  of  its 
coming  reached  Oswego,  and  its  members  were  glad 
to  return  safe.  ^ 


«» 


CHAPTER    XXXVr 


VERMONT    ALMOST    BRITISH 


Intercsi 
negotia' 

tioi)3 


No  Mio 
Land 


">s  A  DECIDEDLY  interesting  series  of  negotia- 
■^*-  tions  was  going  on  while  Haldimand  was 
Governor,  wliicli  are  well  wortli  a  brief  description. 
It  involved  the  attempt  on  the  part  of  some  leading 
men  in  Vermont  to  annex  that  region  again  to  the 
British  Crown.  United  States  histories  contain 
small  mention  of  this  most  interesting  story,  yet 
there  is  little  in  it  discreditable  to  the  whole  people 
of  Vermont.  The  feeling  of  the  leaders  mentioned 
to  some  extent  permeated  the  whole  population  and 

s  was  due  to  quite  natural  and  logical  causes.  Ver- 
mont was  No  Man's  Land.  New  York  claimed  part 
of  it  and  New  Hampshire  claimed  it  all.  The  region 
now  included  in  the  State  was  settled  under  wha^ 
was  known  as  the  New  Hampshire  grants.  It  wa» 
settled  long  after  New  York  and  New  Hampshire, 
and  its  people  felt  themselves  shut  out  from  the  rest 
of  the  countr)'.  The  vast  majority,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  fiercely  loyal  to  the  Revolution  and  put  the 
first  stop  to  Burgoynes  triumphal  march.  Proutl 
of  that  feat  and  of  their  share  in  his  capture  at 
Saratoga,  they  yearned  for  an  organized  existence 
instead  of  being  the  object  of  the  claims  of  two 
other  States.  New  Hampshire  was,  of  course,  one 
of  the  thirteen  colonies  and  set  up  its  statehood 
64a 


VERMONT   ALMOST   BRITISH 
existence  in  2778,  without  much  clunge  of  govem- 
ment.     The  people  of  Vennont,  a  name  the^reg,Tn 
had   already   tal<en    from   its   famous   verdure-clad 
hills   resolved  to  do  the  same  as  New  Hampshire. 
LlT.Tr  "^^°"''"K'y  *°™«d  m  .779.  with  Chit-s.u„p 
tenden  as  Governor,  and  admission  mto  the  Union  *■'"'«>'- 
was  demanded  of  Congress.    On  tl>e  merits  of  the  "n'"'' 
case  Vermont   ought   to  have  been  admitted,   btr 
New  York  and  New  Hampshire  objected  on  selfish 
grounds  and  the  southern  States  objected  to  the  ad- 
mission of  another  northern  State,     So  the  petition 
was  denied.     The  show  of  statehood  was  kept  up 

,n  J^?";  ""'^'"'"^^y  ■""  "-^g^'Iarly  and  a  go^^rno^■ 
and  State  officers  performed  their  duties.  The  de- 
cision of  Congress  naturally  offended  the  Vermont 
people  very  deeply.  Clinton  at  New  York  heard 
of  It  and  notified  London.  Germain  then  wrote  to 
Waldimand  urging  upon  him  the  necessity  of  stand- 
ing ready  to  receive  the  allegiance  of  the  new 
iiritish  colony,  fhereupon  there  began  the  negotia- 
tions between  Haldiinand  and  the  Vermont  leaders 
who  imght  be  fax  orable  to  a  return  to  England 

These  were  not  Loyalists,  but  were  leading  men  ^ .    ,„ 
in    tne    Vennont    Government,    prominent    among "''•! -f 
whom  stolid  good  Ethan  Allen,  whose  "Great  Te-"""" 
ho^•ah  and  the  Continental  Congress"  rolls  down 
the  ages.     Most  of  these  negotiations  were  carried 
on  under  a  semblance  of  the  e.xchange  of  prisoners, 
but  a  g,x)d  many  men  m  V'ermont  knew  what  was 
going  on.     ft  will  not  \ye  possible  for  me  to  detail 
these  negotiations  here.    They  were  conducted  with 
great  secrecy  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  never  quite 
reached  the  point  where  any  Vermonters  had  aerced 
to  cast  their  lot  with  tlie  King.     No  definite  over- 

641 


ChUKCB 

of  uid«» 


AmeticftD 

CauM 

wcakeir 


Prepi-Aag 
a  definite 
propoaiition 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANAPA 

tures  ever  came  from  tlie  Vennont  side.  But  every 
day  throughout  1780  and  most  of  1781  the  chances 
of  this  union  were  growing  stronger.  Snubbed  by 
Congress  and  situated  so  far  from  the  other  Ameri- 
can centres  and  so  near  Can.ida,  the  people  began 
to  feel  cold  to  their  fonner  associates  in  the  Revo- 
lution. Then  there  was  no  longer  any  danger  to 
them.  Quebec  was  quiet  and  no  more  red  coats 
threatened  to  invade  tliem  from  the  north;  thus 
there  was  no  longer  an  irritation  felt  against  Can- 
ada. New  York,  on  the  other  hand,  sent  insults 
and  threatened  coercion  either  by  itself  or  by  Con- 
gress. Still  more  powerful  were  the  disastrous 
fortunes  of  the  American  army.  At  the  end  of 
1780  and  the  beginmng  of  1781  there  began 
to  lie  felt  iliroughout  the  whole  of  the  United 
States  a  profound  reaction  from  the  exhila- 
ration produced  by  Burgoyne's  defeat  and  the 
French  alliance.  That  alliance  had  been  so  far  a 
crue!  disappointment  and  nothing  better  could  be 
foreseen.  This  despondent  feeling  became  e-spe- 
cially  strong  in  ^'"e^niont,  where  there  was  f.ilt  ;•  dis- 
trust of  Washir/j ton's  generalship  and  of  the  wisdom 
and  honesty  of  Congress.  All  these  conditions  made 
the  situation  \ery  promising  for  the  British  cat  se. 
The  conspirator^:,  if  we  may  call  thern  so,  were  in 
full  control  of  the  A.sscinbly,  and  in  July,  1781,  Irr. 
Allen,  Ethan's  brother,  who  had  been  on  one  of  the 
commissions  that  met  Haulimand's  parl>-  at  various 
points,  wro;e  Haldimand  of  the  progress  made.  He 
suggested  sending  certain  propositions  of  union  to 
Congress,  propositioiis  he  knew  Congress  would  re- 
fuse to  accept.  Oa  that  refusal  a  counter  proposi- 
tion and  proclamation  from  Haldii  lanJ  would  be 
642 


VERMONT  ALMOST  BRITISH 
openly  submitted.  At  the  same  time  as  the  despafcli 
of  the  commission  to  Congress,  a  resohition  was 
passed  by  tlie  Assembly  declaring  that  Vermont 
should  not  be  called  upon  to  defray  any  of  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war.  Chittenden,  the  Governor,  was 
all  this  tunc  m  communication  with  Haldimaiid  and 
m  August  .vrote  liim,  rejoicing  that  peace  was  com- 
ing. Congress  did  as  was  cNpecte.l.  refused  to 
grant  stafehoo.l  to  Vermont  except  on  condition 
that  she  al>andon  her  claims  to  certain  land.':  west 
of  Lake  Champlain  and  east  of  the  Connecticut 
Kiver.  7 he  plans  were  progressing  now  \ery  liap- 
pilv  for  the  conspirators. 

But  they  were  soon  to  receive  a-i  abrupt  rcxersal 
The  Assembly  elected  that  fall,  in  spite  of  the  feel- 
mg  of  rebellion  against  Congress,  did  not  have  a 
tnajority  m  favor  of  the  reunion  to  England     The 
news  from  the  South  had  come  to  have  an  Ameri- 
can tinge,  Cornwallis  was  known  to  be  hard  pressed 
and  It  would  have  been  ipipossiWe  to  force  through 
the  Assembly  the  treaty  desired.     Soon  after  the 
Assembly  met,  October  i5.  came  the  surrender  at 
Vorktown,  and  from  that  time  onward  Vermont's 
loyalty  to  the  other  American  States  was  secure 
Kaldimand's  proclamation,  already  drawn  up  and 
ready  to  be  issued   in  Vermont,  was  n»v-cr  made 
public,  and  the  negotiations  faile<l.     Yet  they  did 
not  end.     New  York,  in  1782,  threatened  to  punish 
Vermont  for  her  alleged  rebellious  acts  and  to  en- 
force her  authority  there,  and  some  of  the  con- 
spirators appealed  to  Kaldimand  for  help,  which  he 
could  not  give  as  the  preliminaries  for  peace  were 
already  under  way  and  he  had  been  instructed  to 
suspend  all  offensive  operations. 


Pl4fU 


Vorktown 
checks  tlie 
movement 


Vermont's 

loyaltf 

j'-^cure 


Verotont'i 

peculiar 
lUtUt 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

This  is  not  a  pleasant  episode  for  Americans  to 
read,  yet  it  ought  not  to  be  kept  so  zealously  out 
of  American  histories.  It  is  of  course  merely  specu- 
lative to  assert  what  Vcniiont  would  have  done  ii 
Comwallis  had  not  sjrrendered  when  he  did.  But 
it  is  a  question  what  would  have  become  of  the 
United  States  if  Comwallis  had  not  been  then  de 
feated.  It  was  a  critical  time.  Undoubtedly  the 
vast  majority  of  the  people  of  Vermont  were  loyal 
to  the  United  States,  but  there  were,  as  we  have  seen, 
peculiar  reasons  for  abatement  of  their  enthusiasm. 
They  knew  nothing  of  the  con  i  iracy  to  throw  them 
back  into  British  nile  and  can  not  be  accused  with- 
out that  knowledge.  Vermont,  thus,  can  not  be 
called  a  disloyal  section  in  any  .sense.  It  had  a 
peculiar  status  during  the  war,  and  the  above  sketch 
is  only  made  for  the  purpose  of  revealing  a  chapter 
of  history  one  could  hardly  have  omitteu  in  the 
story  of  Canada.' 


'  It  is  rather  amusing  to  learn  to-day  of  such  organizations 
as  "The  Vermont  &  Quebec  Young  People's  Christian 
Union,"  showing  that  a  sort  of  union  exists  between  Ver- 
mont and  Canada,  after  all. 


fi44 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 


PEACn  AND  1  HE  SKTTLEMENT  OF  UPPER  CANADA 

'TTHE   war  was  now  over.  an,l  the  only  thingT..,„ 

lett   was   to   bring    .bout  a  treaty  of  peace  "" 
;  he  news  of  Comwanis-s  surrender,  which  arrived 
in  England  ni  November,  1781,  convinced  all  Eng- 
land that  It  was  impracticable  to  conquer  the  col- 
onies.   Some  English  and  Canadian  historians,  writ- 
ing many  years     fter  the  fact,  criticize  severely  this 
feeling  as  fundamentally  wrong  and  illogical.    They 
point  out  that  the  expedition  of  Cornwallis  had  no 
part  ]n  the  main  operations  directed  by  Clinton  at 
New  York.     Yet  the  cutting  off  of  such    i  Urge 
proportion  of  the  British  army  meant  almost  surely 
the  concentration  of  all  the   forces  of  the  colony 
against   New  York.     Poor  as  the  colonies  were,cor„. 
small  as  was  the  army,  and  rife  as  were  the  mal- -'"•'• 
contents,  it  is  still  probable  that  had  the  British  Ad-^u"; 
ministration   taken   further  steps  to  prosecute  the"""*' 
war  in  America  after  the  surrender  .,f  Cornwallis 
the  result  would  have  been  more  enthusiasm  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans  and  more  defeats  for  the 
British.     As  ,t  wn..  practically  nothing  hap|>ened 
.n  the   hirteen  State.,  from  the  time  of  (  ornwallis's 
surrender  to  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  the  signing 
of  the  treaty  of  peace.    The  f  ict  is,  Great  Britain 
gave  up  the  war,  not  because  she  could  not  suppress 
545 


MfC^OCOPY    RESOIUTION    TEST    CHART 

[ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  Nc    21 


^  ^PPUEDJVHGE     I 

as?--  "^53   Eqsi   Moi-  Street 

=-^  '*i>cr'f=l*'.    ^le-   yo'k         14609        US* 

rj^  (  "  6)   *a2  -  0 JOO  -  Phone 

^^5  (^'6)   J8a  -  S9B9  -  Foj. 


Tne 

English 
people 
condemn 
the  war 


Parliament 
votes  to 
stop  the 
war,  Marcij 
4,  i7«3 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

the  rebellion,  but  because  her  people  did  not  want 
to  continue  the  attempt.     The  handwriting-  on  the 
wall  'vas  plain  to  everylxjdy,  even  to  Germain,  who 
was  still  in  power.     In  January,  1781,  he  had  de- 
clared that  he  would  never  sign  a  treaty  of  peace 
which  gave  independence  to  the  American  colonies. 
In  January,  j  782.  seeint,'  that  independence  was  in- 
evitable, he  had  the  grace  to  resign,  one  of  the 
few  graceful  acts  that  he  ever  did.     Soon  after  his 
resignation  Parliament,  which  had  been  in  session 
only  a  short  time,  began  to  face  th'j  truth  bravely 
and  squarely.     On  the  27th  of  February  a  motion 
was  carried  "that  the  war  on  the  continent  of  North 
America  should  no  longer  be  pursued  for  the  im- 
practicable purpose  of  reducing  the  inhabitants  of 
the  countiy  to  obedience."     This  did  not  seem  to 
be  strong  enough,  however,  so  on  the  4th  of  March 
the  House  voted  that  it  would  consider  as  enemies 
to  the  King  and  country  all  who  should  advise  the 
'  prosecution  of  the  war.    It  is  very  possible  that  this 
date,  March  4th,  was  chosen  as  Inauguration  Day  of 
the  President  in  the  United  States  because  of  the 
above  action  of  the  House  of  Commons;  this  is  the 
first  reasonable  excuse  that  I  have  ever  heard  for  the 
selection  of  that  unseasonable  date.    The  vote  was 
not  without  its  other  effects,  for  about  a  fortnight 
later,  March  20th,  Lord  North  resigned.     Having 
got  rid  of  North,  the  P;ime  Minister,  and  Germain, 
the  Colonial  Minister,  England  was  in  fair  condition 
to  settle  up  the  war  without  more  delay.     But  the 
new  ministry  of  Rockingham  was  not  wholly  har- 
monious, and  its  quarrels  and  a  number  of  other 
circumstances  conspired  to  prevent  the  speedy  con- 
summation of  peace.    One  of  these  other  circum- 
646 


SETTLEMENT   OF  UPPER   CANADA 

Stances    was    Rodney's    famous    victory    over    tliePaco,, 
i-.-ench  and  Spanish  fleets  in  the  West  Indies  on'"'" 
Apnliath    which  gave  some  snpix>rt  to  the  ixirty^tf 
that  desired  the  war  to  continue,  not  necessarily 
ligamst  the  United  States,  but  rather  against  France 
and  Spain.    Both  these  Powers  were  very  anxious  to 
continue  the  war,  and  redoubled  their  efforts  to  se- 
cure some  tangible  victory  to  serve  as  a  basis  on 
which   to  claim   substantial   considerations   in   the 
treaty. 

Meanwhile     however,    negotiations    were    teing  F„„w,i„ 
carried  on  of  a  more  or  less  informal  character  in'"' 
Pans  between    l--rankHn  and   Richard  Oswald,  an.XtrC 
eiivoy  .sent  by  Shelburnc,  the  new  Foreign  Minister 
1  he  story  of  how  Franklin  hoodwinked  Oswald 
Shelbunie,  and  the  whole  British  nation  as  well  as 
the  I-reiich  in  this  settlement  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
is  a  most  interesting  and  amusing  one.    As  a  diplo-' 
mat,  Franklin  clearly  showed  himself  the  cleverest 
man  mall  the  world.     It  is  impossible  to  point  to 
any  dehnite  place  where  he  squarely  lied,  but  the 
nian's  adroitness,  his  evasions,  his  subtle  tlatterv  and 
absurd  pretensions,  challenge  our  warmest  admira- 
tion, if  not  emulation,  even  to  this  day.     That  is  a 
story,  however,  that  can  not  be  told  in  detail  here 
Ihe  part  of  the  treaty  which  applies  to  Canada  will 
more  properly  engage  our  attention. 

One  of  the  chief  difficulties  which  Franklin  hadFra„«a„ 
m  securing  an  agreement  and  a  treaty  with  Great  "»!'""»•■ 
Britain  lay  in  the  embarrassments  arising  from  the'"*"™"' 
French  alliance.    The  United  States  had  prettv  defi- 
nitely promised  France  that  she  should  be  consulted 
before  the  peace  was  concluded  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.    This  promise,  h     ever, 
^17  Canada -12  \  ul.  II  ' 


Treaty  of 
peace 

s-iffned. 


THE    TERCENTEXARY    lUSTORY    OF    CA.VADA 
was  broken,  for  a  preliniinarj.  treaty  of  peace  was 
signed  on  November  30,  1782,  without  the  knowl'- 
edge  of  France.     One  of  the  chief  reasons  in  the 
n.MKls  of  the  American  commissioners  for  this  act 
was  tiie  desire  to  prevent  Canada  from  in  any  way 
reti>rnmgr  to  France.     Cliarges  of  bad  faith  were 
.......       "lade  against  Franklin,  of  course,  and  can  hardly 

s.p«»^r  be  answered  except  on  the  general  ground  that  the 
necessities  of  t'.e  United  States,  which  were  at 
that  time  espeaally  great  and  pressing,  were  para- 
mount to  all  other  considerations.  The  final  treaty 
was  signed  on  September  3,  1783. 

TIIi;  SIIAMEFl-L  TR1-.\TMENT  OF  THE  LOYALISTS 

There  are  at  least  two  sections  of  that  treaty  of 
peace  which  were  of  \ita!  consequence  to  Canada 
One  of  these  referred  to  the  Loyalists  in  the  United 
States  and  the  other  to  the  boundary  between  the 
Ignited  States  and  Canada.  Articles  V  and  VI  of 
the  treaty  were  the  subjects  of  long  debate  in  Paris. 
1  hey  referred  to  the  post-bellum  condition  of  the 
Loyalists.  This  is  a  subject  on  which  there  is  just 
as  marked  a  division  of  opinion  to-day  as  there  was 
at  that  time.  Without  doubt,  however,  the  passage 
of  time  has  served  to  soften  the  animosity  with 
which  the  Loyalists  were  regarded  in  the  United 
States.  It  IS  not  my  puipose  here  to  discuss  that 
matter  except  very  briefly.  Undoubtedly  a  large 
proportion  of  the  Loyalists  took  their  stand  with  the 
King  mainly  on  temperamental  grounds.  I  have 
said  in  a  previous  chapter  that  in  my  judgment  the 
American  Revolution  was  due  not  to  the  causes 
usually  ascribed  to  it  in  the  histories  and  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  but  to  the  impossi- 
648 


Why 

they  were 
Loyalists 


SETTLEMENT   OF  UPPER   CANADA 

bility  of  a  people  of  Anglo-Saxon  ancestry  being  Th. 
governed  by  anotlier  Power  3,000  miles  away  across  '-"y'l"-' 
the  sea.    Now,  there  are  always  in  everj'  comnninitv  """'" 
and  in  every  country  tliose  who  are  teiT]r)eramentaIlv 
out  of  accord  with  prevailing  sentiment.    The  great 
currents  of  popular  movement  do  not  touch  them 
Such  were  the  Loyalists.    They  were  not  convinced 
by  argument  that  the  British  Government  was  cruel 
and  tyrannous  to  the  extent  which  would  make  re- 
bellion justifiable.     Consequentlv.  as  they  did  not 
feel  the  overwhelming  sentiment  based  not  on  argu- 
ment but  on  fundamental  emotions  and  racial  in- 
deijendence.  they  refused  to  go  the  way  of  their 
fellows.     This    minority    always    exists    in    everv 
country  and  in  ev^ry  time.    We  can  not  wholly  blame 
such  peojile  except   for  their  short-sightedness  in 
reading  the  signs  of  the  times.     Undoubtedly  the 
J-oyahsts  in  the  United  States  were  at  the  tir^e  of 
the  sitting  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1775  in 
the  majority,  and  perhaps  by  the  time  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  one-third  of  the  people  were 
l-oyahsts.     But  after  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence had  lieen  signed  by  men  who  were  among  the 
most  prominent  and  honorable  in  the  United  States, 
and  with  George  Washington  in  command  of  the 
American  army,  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
cast  their  lot  with  the  new  nation.    But  the  Loyalists  Their 
would  not  do  this;  in  consequence  their  property ""i*"'' 
was  confiscated,   and   during  the   Revolution   thev™'"'"' 
constit-ited  in  every  Province  or  State  a  source  of 
comfort   to  the  enemy   of   the  Americans   and   a 
decided    impediment    to    American    success       Es- 
pecially was  this  true  in  the  South  where  almost 
all  the  leading  men  throughout  the  war  were  Loyal- 
649 


An  em- 
t. a -raising 
question 
after  the 
Wi<r 


Pleilpes 
of  the 
Americans 


Noattetnpi 
m.-  ]e  .a 
rci.'eem 
tho<ic 
pledges 


Privations 
and  per- 
secutions 


THE  TERCFN-TENARY  HFSTORY  OF  CANADA 
ists.  Hon-  to  deal  with  tl,is  element  after  the  wir 
was  a  most  difficult  que^ion.  It  was  finally  settled 
Iion-ever.  „,  a  ^•ery  indefinite  way.  After  nn- 
"lerons  consultations  of  the  peace  envoys,  which 
often  threatened  to  bre.-,k  np  the  chances  o 
peace,  Articles  V  and  VI  of  the  treaty  were  agreed 
o,  provuhng  that  Congress  should  recommend  to 
ttn'of"",T  l:'^"^''"''\  '°  P^^^i'le  for  the  restitu- 

Zh  h-;     K   '  ""'T  '^''°"8'"'^  '°  "'^  Loyalists 
which  had  been  confiscated,  if  they  had  not  borne 

arms  agamst  the  United  States,  that  the  LoyaliTt 
should  have  free  liberty  to  remain  in  the  United 
States  a  year  after  the  passage  of  the  treaty,  and 
that  Congress  should  recommend  that  the  con- 
fiscatonal  laws  which  had  been  passed  by  the  sev- 
eral States  should  be  repealed,  and  that  no  further 
confiscation  should  be  made. 

This  was  a  hollow  promise.     It  could  not  be  ful- 
filled, and  l»th  the  British  and  the  United  States 
com„„,s,oners  knew  it,  or  ought  ^o  have  known  it. 
Absolutely  no  attempt  was  ever  made  by  Congress 
o  secure  the  mitigation  of  the  laws  against  the 
Loyalists   m   the   several   States,   and  certainly  no 
attempt  was  made  by  the  States  themselves      The 
Loyalists    suffered    everywhere    great    privations. 
Son  e  of   them   were  permitted   to  remain   in   the 
United  States,  but  it  was  years  before  they  had  any 
peace.     The  vast  majority  of  them,  however,  left 
tlie    United    States   and    indeed    were   driven   out 
Their  numbers  were  certainly  not  more  than  50,000 
Of  these  28.000  settled  in  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
Biunswick,  the  remainder  chiefly  in  what  is  now 
the    Province   of    Ontario,    although    some    found 
their  way  to  Quebec  Province,  even  to  the  Bay  of 
650 


SETTLEMENT   OF   UPPER   CANADA 

Chaleiirs.     The  settlement  of  the  Province  of  On-  a  gr.« 
tario  by  these  Loyalists  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  "■'""'' 
most  interesting-  movements  in  all  history.     It  was'"" 
certainly  the  most  fortunate  event  for  Canada.     In 
the  trek   of   the   Loyalists   from  their   abandoned 
homes  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  acro.ss  Lake 
Ontario  was  borne  an   element  destine-'   to  gre;it 
eminence  in  the  affairs  of  British  America.     This 
is  !..,t  at  all  sui  prising,   for  these  Loyalists  were 
usually  men  of  education,  gooil  breeding-,  and  high 
private   character.     On   such  a   foundation  would 
naturally  grow  a  state  filled  with  intelligent  citizens, 
distinguished  for  the  same  sterling  qualities  as  their 
ancestors.    This  is  undoubtedly  true  of  the  Province 
of  Ontario  of  to-day,     Unhappily,  along  with  these 
qualities   went  others  not  so  prepossessing.     Like 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  they  had  come  to  a  new  coun- 
try that  they  might  enjoy  freedom  of  conscience, 
to  worship  God  as  they  pleased,  and  make  everybody 
el.se  do  the  same.    However,  we  shall  not  anticipate 
this  point  in  the  working  of  this  new  element  in 
Canada's  population.    The  strain  is  too  distinct  for 
us   to   fail    to   observe   it   in   the  development  of 
Canadian   life,      indeed,    it   is   as   distinct   as   the  The  .wry 
French  strain  in  the  adjoining  Province,  and  the  de-°^^;,"° 
velopment  simultaneously  of  these  two  Provinces""' 
constitutes  a  story  of  peculiar  interest  to  all  students 
of  racial  manifestations  and  free  government.    We 
shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  observe  how  in- 
harmoniously  this  development  proceeded,  and  we 
may  be  at  times  decidedly  impatient  at  these  nu- 
merous exhibitions  of  infelicity.    But  the  wonder  is, 
after  all,  that  two  such  fundamentally  different  states 
existed  side  by  side  and  grew  into  any  sort  of  union. 
651 


THE    TERCENTE.VARV    HISTOKY    OF    CANADA 


VPVm    CANADA    CREATED 

The^u„;.dTnE   heginnings  of  this  en.igration   i„to  what   is 

'-'"" """■  "^'itario  were  in   1783,  and  the  progress  was 

very  slow  for  a  long  while.     In.lee.l.  at  the  close 
of  ,786   three  years  after  the  war.  there  were  only 
4.4S7  settlers  there,    f  raMiniantl,  who  was  then  Gov- 
ernor, treated  the.,,  with  the  utnto.,  generosity  an,l 
kindness.     Traets  of  lan<l  were  „ven  to  eael,  fam- 
ily large  enough  for  them  to  make  a  living  on      In 
addition,   several  years  later,   the   British   Govern- 
ment ordered  that  the  sons  and  da-ghtcrs  „f  I  oyal- 
■sts,  the  first  when  arriving  of  age  an<l  the  other  on 
heir  marriage,  should  each   receive   .00  acres  of 
and     These  Loyalists  were  designated  l.y  the  name 
United    r:nip,re   Loyalists,   and   that   title    "U    E 
L..     is  still  a  mark  of  distinction  in  Toronto  and 
all  parts  of  Ontario.     The  rea<ler  mn,st  ha<.  ■  won- 
dered at  the  slow  growth  of  these  settlemcn;  ^     As 
stated  above,  three  years  after  the  treaty  of  peace 
was  signed,  there  were  less  than  5,000  in  that  sec- 
tion     fhis  shows  pretty  conclusively  that  in  spite 
of  the  harsh  treatment  which  thev  received  in  the 
Lnited  States,  either  they  ^vere  not  ^•ery  mimerous 
or  they  were  not  driven  out  precipitately,  as  a  good 
many  historians  would  have  us  infer.     It  is  not  nee 
essary  to  dwell  on  the  activities  of  the  Loyalists  in 
Nova  Scotia.    Many  of  th.e.se  went  there  at'the  time 
of  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  on  .March  17.  ,776  and 
their  commg  was  a  great  benefit  to  that  region 
^u,cme.u        ^'"^  ^"t  settlement  of  the  Loyalists  in  what  is 
a.Ki„gs.o„now   Ontario   was  at   Kingston,   the  site  of   Fort 
Frontenac.  in  1783.     The  first  years  of  this  settle- 
ment were  most  unhapp,-.     Their  ^ery  culture  and 
652 


Plrs 
wtllemetlt 


Sin-TLIiMKN-T   OF   rpPER   CANADA 
eclucatioM  and  f^cucci  hr,„gi„,.  ,,,  c.uvi  „„.  U   E  I    .  , 
for  no  sucli  career  as  tillintr  tl,p  Lm  •       V                     "'"''''>■ 
to  be  an  inhospitable  ial^  ^^  ,^  ^  ^ V""""  '' ^ 

wSerarr.,;:-;'::;!:"-'^  "■^"■'  ^■■"  -^  '^^^ 

comiehJ  V  ^  "''P^  "•"<=  '""St  clis- 

"t  tliey  had  remained    n  the  United  St-,.,.    ■ 

THE    BOr.V;>AP.y   qi-estio.v 

«;«d,*.x*;;r ',''!'■  '?">; »'  i»~  "i'«i'<. ..- 

™.. .- »sit;:TrnH,1J;-„l%^"■ 
!  5 ;?' -- •^•' =.-»^ 

^tate  of  Ma.ne  as  ,t  ,s  to-day,  then  directly  west  t^ 
65J 


eastern 
boundary 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 
^.e  St.  Lawrence,  and  from  that  point  following  tl,e 
St.  Uiwrence   Lakes  Ontario,  Erie.  Huron,  an,l  Su- 

States  tha    large  island,  Lsle  Koyal,  in  Lake  Supe- 
rior, wind,  an  exact  survey  would  have  ffiven  to 
T.,.„      Great  Bntain.     As  to  the  eastern  boundarv,  the  e 
Th,^;.„„.wdl  always  be  a  ve.xed  question.     The  treaty  of 
peace,  as  we  h.-jve  said,  fi.xed  the  boundary  about 

n   hat  treaty  whtch  the  Untted  States  in  some  way 
ehdeo      The  hue  "drawn  north  from  the  source  of 

,ti  ^!"^"'  ^^"''"'  '°  "^^  Highlands,  alonfr  the 
sa.d  Highlands  which  divi.ie  tho.se  rivers  that  ll 
themselves  tnto  the  river  St.  Lawrence  from  tho« 
vhtch  fall  nno  the  .Atlantic  Ocean."  was  clearly  t 
Ime  which  would  have  left  the  river  .Aroostook.  Ld 
a  large  part  of  what  is  now  northern  .Maine  in 
British  territory.  How  the  Unite.l  States  got  ha" 
territory  w.  1  be  better  shown  when  we  come  to  the 
V\  ebster-Ashburton  Treaty 

tJl'"  ."7''"^  ""°  ^^'"  "^  "'^  provisions  of  the 
treaty  by  Canada  and  the  United  States  was  not 
effected  with  utmost  harmony.     Carleton,  who  had 
succeede<i  thnton  in  command  at  New  York    aid 
not  sail  from  that  city  until  several  months,  after 
his  absence  would  have  been  appreciated  by  Con- 
gress  and  when  he  did  he  took  with  him  as  many 
Loyalists  as  he  could  carry.     When   Washington 
called   upon   Haldimrnd   for   the  transfer  of  the 
^riTw  ,'^-  '■^'""'^^"  territory  and  held  by  the 
Bnush,  Haldimand  was  not  very  ready  to  give  them 
up.     In  fact,  he  plainly  stated  the  next  year  that 
he  would  not  give  them  up  until  the  provisions  of 
tlie  treaty  regarding  Loyalists  were  f ulfille  I.     An- 
654 


Trouble 
over Ihe 
western 
pottt 


SF.TTLEMnXT      )F   UPPER   CAN'ADA 
other  reason   he  jjavc  was  tliat   he  had   no  direct 
orders  to  transfer  tlie.n.     CoMse,|iienllv  the  entire 
cha>,ge  was  not  effected  imtil   17/,,  th'irtecn  years 

after  the  war.     The  Indians  in  the  West  v.ere  very 

nuici  CNcitcd  when  they  learned  iliat  this  country'"^""'"' 
had  been  turned  over  t.j  the  .Americans.    In  the  first 
place  tliey  declared  that  this  land  was  their  own- 
■t  was  ,;oi  for  the  liritish  to  ^ive,  especially  was  it' 
no    for  the  British  .0  give  it  to  the  enemies  of  the 
I.i<l.a>is.      Haldiman.l  wrote  to  them.  reassnrinLdy 
urg.ng  them  to  be  peaceful,  an,|  otTering  them  lan.i 
I"  tpi)er  Canada  and  other  sections.     In  all   abo'jt 
700,000  acres  were  set  aside,  and  part  of  'it  was 
occupied   by  them.      .Most  of  them,   however    re- 
mained  in   the   West,   and  of  these  many  became 
embroded  ni  the  wars  winch  succeeded  the  attempt 
of  the  Americans  from  Virginia,  New  York,  an.  I 
I'ennsylvama  to  s-ttle  tha'  great  region 

From  the  beginning  of  English  rule  in  Can.  da 
as  we  have  noticed  it,  tlure  was  a  restlessnes,  .-• 
the  part  of  the  Ro.nan  Catholic  population  because 
of  then-   fear  that  in  some  way  they  were  to  be 
deprived   of   the    full   privilege   of   their   relig.on 
There   was   never    any   substantial   basis    for   this 
theory.     The  record  of  Great  Britain  in  this  re'- 
spect  >s,  perhaps,  under  the  circumstances,  the  most 
remarkable  example  of  religious  tolerance  i,.   the 
h.story  of  the  world.     This  does  not  mean,  how- 
evei,  that  the  British  authorities  did  not  exercise 
reasoi-^le  precaution.     An  exampb  of  this  can-Kncu,. 
t.ous  action  was  shown  soon  after  the  conclusion  »nh  ,„. 
of  the  peace  treaty  in  1784.     The  Montreal  Sem- ""'''""■ 
inary,  under  the  control  of  the  Sulpitians,  wished 
to  secure  their  priests   from  the  seminary  of   St 
655 


Two 

SulpitUn 
prlfNts  wnt 
b«c;k  lu 
I'arit 


intra- 

Rngltih 
element 
hard  to 
please 


THK    TKRCI.NTE.VARV    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
Sulpice  in   l'ar,s.     This  leave  the  British  Cavern- 
meiit  refMsed  to  gram.     So  many  oi  the  Sulpuians 
liad  cau,se.l  trouble  by  their  allege.l  iMtngucs,  that 
the  («,ve.n.nent,  while  w.MinK,  of  course,  to  have 
freiich   pnesis,    preferre.!    that   they    shoul.l   come 
from  some  other  seminary.     In  spite  of  this  pro 
h.bition,  at  least  two  priests  did  come  from  St   Sul- 
pice. dressing  in  secular  garb  in  order  to  prevent 
their  1h..,ms:  <letccted.    This  caused  considerable  fcel- 
ms:,  and  after  several  deputations  had  waited  ui^m 
naiuini      I,  the  two  priests  were  sent  back.     I'eti- 
tions  1,    their   favor  were  afterward  made  to  the 
imperial  authorities,  but   for  some  years  without 
success. 

IIALDIMAND    RECALLIiD 

In  the  summer  of  1784  Haldimand  received  notice 
ti-om  hiiKiand,  sranling  him  pernnssion  to  return 
yet  approving  his  administration  heartily,     l-his  was 
m  reality  a  veiled  recall,  and  was  so  interpreted  by 
most  of  his  contemporaries  i„  England  and  Can- 
ada.   He  did  not  leave  Canada  until  NovemI.er  i  sth 
Presumably  his  recall  was  asked   because  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  his  course  regarding  the  English 
settlers.    As  we  have  .seen  and  shall  continue  to  see. 
t  lis  ultra-l-nghsh  element  in  Canada  was  narrow  in 
the  extreme,  and  from  the  very  start  arrogated  to 
•tsel    the  control  and  rule  of  Canada,  a  pretension 
w  iich  no  governor-general  was  willing  to  reccniize 
ihese  critics  railed  against  Murray,  against  Carle- 
ton,   and   against   Haldimand,   yet   Haldimand,   in 
spite  of  Ins  rigorous  measures,  which  were  prob- 
ably justified  in  the  majority  of  cases,  was  one  of 
the  most  useful  rulers  that  Canada  ever  had      It 
656 


SETI    .1 MKNT   or-    L'l'I'I'R   CANADA 
wawnider   lii.,   a.lnMMi.tratiuii    tliat    ih.   cuadel    of ...,., 
<J»f  hcc  was  desigMcl  an<l  started.      1  Ic  l,u,lt  the  lii  st  ""''■■ 
small  ca„als  to  overe.„ne  the  ra,.,ds  of  the  St.  Uvv-r,!™ 
mice.     He  la„l  ,n,t  the  l-„hlic  Garclen.s  in  Ouehec 
.i"<l   the  line  ktouiuIs  at   Maiitinorency   I'.dls    in- 
c hulniK   res„le>,ce   and  garden,   were   due   to  hi.n 
He  also  niadc  the  Chaiean  St.   Lonis  a  Knl.erna- 
torjal    resul.nce.      On    the   whole,    i   an,   ttnal.le   to 
hnd  a  basis  f..r  the  chartjes  of  cruelty  and  bias  which 
many  writers  have   fonnulated  against   him.      He 
undoubtedly  took  with  hi.n  to  England  the  respect 
"   not  the  a(!.ct,on,  of  a  large  percentage  of  the 
I)eople.     Dming  his  absence  the  Ciovernn.ent  wasCo,„„. 
under  the  guidance  of  C:olunel   Henry   Hamilton  """"'■•" 
with  who.se  career  as  the  governor  of  Detroit  and"""" 
defeated  commandant  at  Vincennes  and  prisoner  in 
Virginia  we  are  familiar.     His  administration  was 
unsuccc      nl.     He  magnihed  his  olhcc,  and  became 
mvolv;ej      ,  some  ditneulties  ,n  regard  to  the  militia 
act.     1  h,s  led  him  to  quarrel  with  the  military  com- 
■nander,  Colonel  Hoi>e.     Hamilton  seemed  to  have 
acted  m  a  hasty  way,  consequently,  after  serving 
only  a  few  months,  his  resignation  was  <lemanded 
and  Hope  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor 

A  short  time  after  Haldimand's  return  to  Eng- 
land   Bishop  Briand   retired.     He   was  no  longer 

il    ,vr"T"'  '^'■f-,'''';''^'  •''"'"'"«''  '^'^  '>--"J  ••>  coad- 
jutor, D  h,sg|,s.     1  he  Imer,  however,  was  sevntv- 

hve  years  of  age,  and  the  Bishop  recommende.l  the 

appoimmeiu  of  a  successor  to  the  coadjutor  before 

he  latter  died  or  retired-a  sort  of  coadjutor  to 

this  post,  July   I,    ,785.    The  new  diocesan   was  ""i""- "' 
forty-s,.x-  years  old  and  ^vas  a  native  of  Quebec  '""'" 
657 


Father 
Hubert*! 
coDKcra- 
tioa 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
r^r  the  preceding  twelve  years  he  had  been  first 
secretary  to  the  Bishop,  but  was  at  the  time  of  h  s 
appomtn,ent  missionary  to  the  Hurons  near  Detroit 
H.S  consecration  took  place  on  November  19  1786 
The  coadjutor  died  about  the  same  time,  and  ^i 
from  the  start  Hubert  was  in  control  of  th   dioces^ 


Csa 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 

DORCHESTER    GOVERJJOR    AND    CANADA   DIVIDED 

H-y^fL'^r'^'  °'  ~T'  "^"^^  '''«'  he  would  C..„. 

made  k  ownTo"r';:ArLr-r'  ''r  ^~"-"-' 
Hooefhaf  r,rw        u    ?.         Lieutenant-Governor  Gov.,„or 
nope  that  Carleton  should  succeed  to  the  governor 
sh.p.     Carleton  had  been  given  the  ung  afe",   "aTk 
o   commard.ng  the  army  in  the  United  State    after 

Pomtment  was  agreeable  to  him      Beca,,  ..vf  w      ^' 
vces  in  TanoH?^      1  .,"""•    '^^-auseof  hisser-isn..- 

b^rleH^n  .t  '"  '^'  U""^''  States  he  " 

oeen  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Lord  Dorchester     H- 
was  the  first  Govemor-Gener;,!  nfr.,,   ^ 

Colo...  Th„„,  S:SLT,S'SJ','°"- 

6S9 


Lord 


Chief 

Justice 

Smith 


Court 
procedure 
investi- 
gated 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

at  Quebec  on  Octol)er  23,  1786.  With  him  came 
W'llham  Smith,  who  had  been  appointed  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  Province  at  Carleton's  request.  He  had 
known  Smith  while  the  latter  was  a  justice  in  New 
York,  and  formed  a  high  opinion  of  his  character. 
Smith  was  born  in  New  York,  and  was  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  that  Province  from  1763,  He  was  a  Lova!- 
ist  wlio  seems  not  to  have  encountered  great  enmity 
from  the  Americans,  but  he  had  deemed  it  wise  not 
to  remain  uniler  American  rule,  and  had  accom- 
panied Carleton  wlien  the  latter  returned  to  Eng- 
land in  1783. 

The  coming  of  Justice  Smith  led  to  more  inves- 
tigations and  disputes  regarding  the  status  of  civil 
law  in  the  Province.  The  Chief  Justice  made  an  in- 
quiry relatix'e  to  the  procedure  in  the  courts.  An 
enormous  amount  of  testimony  was  taken,  but  no 
progress  was  really  made  and  nothing  was  deter- 
mined, A  conflict  arose  between  the  Chief  Justice 
and  Monks,  tlie  Attorney-General,  the  result  of  which 
was  that  Monks  \\-as  dismissed  from  his  position 
and  Graves  appointed  in  his  stead.  There  were  very 
few  occurrences  of  any  consequence  in  the  early 
part  of  Dorchester's  Administration  that  were  cal- 
culated to  disturb  the  even  tenor  of  affairs.  There 
was,  of  course,  the  usual  dissatisfaction  and  com- 
plaint of  both  French  and  English  at  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law,  and  against  the  administratoi-s, 
but  on  the  whole  these  were  years  of  quiet,  steady 
growth  both  on  the  upixr  and  the  lower  St,  Law- 
rence. 

In  September,  1787,  Dr.  Cliarles  Inglis  was  ap- 
pointed the  first  bishop  of  the  English  Jhurch  in 
British  America.     He  was  in  title  bishop  of  Nova 
660 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 
Scotia  with  Halifax  as  his  see  city,  bi.t  his  jurisdic-F.„ 
tion  extended  to  Quebec,  New  Brunswick,  and  New-  "•""" 
foundland^     He  made  but  one  vsit  to  Quel,ec,  be- C 
cause  w,thm  a  few  years  a  bishop  was  ai>ix>inted  ""-\ 
for  that  Provmce  alone.    Bishop  I„gl,s  was  born  in  '"       "* 
Ireland,  and  was  a  teacher  in  Pennsylvania  before 
bemg  ordamed.     At  the  time  of  tlie  breaking  out 
of   the    Revolufon   he   was   assistant   minister   at 
Irm.ty  Church,  New  York.     Requested  by  Wash- 
ington to  omit  the  prayer  for  the  King  and  the  royal 
family,  Inghs  refused,  and  on  the  issuance  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Trinity  Church  was 
cosed.     He  attracted  considerable  attention  by  his 
able  answer  to  Thomas  Paine's  pamphlet,  "Com- 
monsense,    an  argument  for  the  Revolution.    After 
the  evacuation  of  New  York  by  the  British    178^ 
he  proceeded  to  Halifax,  and  remained  as  rector 
until  appointed  bishop. 

As  was  usual  in  a  new  country,  the  chief  things 
which  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  people  were 
the  courts,  the  army,  -md  the  church.  Especially 
Td  ^'  '"""  ?-^  !''"  '■'''''■  ^'P  '°  this  timVthere 
and  ^"  J^'^  ''"^'  ^""'°"  "^t^^^"  ">e  P'-«estants 
and  the  Roman  Catliolics,  but  the  internal  dissen- 
sions of  the  latter  continued.  Among  the  sources  «  „,  . 
of  dissatisfaction  at  this  time  was  the^new  coadS"^'"'' 

wL  a  nrW^  ffi""""'  ''=''">'  "'  ""'''''"'■     Bailly  "r:^,.., 
wdA  a  priest  ot  hne  attamments  and  culture      He  '"'""'■'■  '"7 
had  been  vicar-general  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  after- 
ward was  a  professor  in  the  seminary  of  Quebec 
IXinng  the  s.ege  of  Quebec  in  1775-76  he  di<l  some 
fighting  on  the  English  si<'     teing  wounded  severely 

and  his  marked  intelhgen.e  and  learning  attracted 
661 


BaiUy 
treated 
discour- 

tCOMSly 

by  his 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
Sir  Guy  Carleton,  and  he  was  tutor  to  Carleton's 
children  four  years  in  England.     He  returned  to 
Canada  in  1782,  and  resumed  his  duties  as  a  priest 
About   four  years   later,   or   in    1787,    Bailly   was 
elected  coadjutor-bishop,  largely  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Dorchester.     With  this  choice  the  venerable 
Bishop  Briand  and  Bishop  Hubert  were  not  pleasetl 
by  hi,        'T''  "'"^y  "■^^'^'^  Bailly  with  discourtesy,  amounting 
.up«iors    almost  to  contempt.     He  had  been  cure  at  Pointe- 
aux-  Trembles,  and  his  ecclesiastical  sui>eriors  com- 
pelled him  to  remain  there.     This  uncomfortable 
condition  was  sure  to  provoke  a  rupture.     It  came 
after  Bishop  Hubert  had  published  a  proclamation 
censuring   priests    for    leaving    tlieir   parishes    too 
often.     This  was  directed,  Monsigneur  Bailly  be- 
heved,  at  himself,  because  of  his  frequent  visits  in 
Quebec,   and  he  answered  the  proclamation  in   a 
public  letter  in  the  Quebec  "Gazette."     The  feeling 
stirred  up  by  this  was  not  allayed  for  years      Un- 
doubtedly the  basis  of  the  opposition  to  Bailly  lay 
in  his  friendship  to  Dorchester. 

We  have  already  learned  of  the  discontent  of  the 
Indians  south  and  west  of  Lake  Erie  because  their 
mterests  and  the  interests  of  all  the  Indians  of  the 
west  were  ignored  in  the  peace  treaty.  The  ugly 
feeling  which  prevailed  in  that  region  was  due  to 
the  fear  that  the  United  States  would  take  from 
them  the  land  which  they  occupied.  This  was  an 
entirely  justifiable  fear.  About  1786  a  raid  was 
made  into  the  Shawnee  country  by  some  Kentuck- 
lans,  who  burned  villages  and  destroyed  crops  and 
committed  many  other  acts  of  violence.  Matters 
came  to  a  head  in  1788  when  the  territory  was  given 
a  government  with  St.  Clair  as  Governor.  This 
662 


W'ar.'arein 

the  Ohio 
country 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 
tact  of  the  organization  of  this  territory  led  to^ 

parts  of  the  United  States.  An  attempt  on  St 
aa.r  s  part  to  prevent  these  settlers  from  takL  a 
warhke  atfttide  failed,  nor  was  he  able  to     dL 

~  i:Le?tiT  Lr^nd  z^'''  r/"^^^-'- 

trf>or>c  ir,  fi,  ^M'ans  and  bodies  of  Amencan 'varfa,e 

Suffered  ^'"■!  '^^.""^  '791,  in  which  both 
cTnJ  ,   ^""^  equally.    Undoubtedly  both  the 

Canadian  and  the  American  Goveniment  were  try! 
r.g  to  preserve  peace,  but  they  could  not  control 
their  own  people.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
Imlian  warfare  in  Ohio,  which  continued  f!r  many 

PARLIAMENT   SEPARATES   THE    CANADAS 
Que£:'Act'  wf/'"l'''  ^1*^'"  ^"'"'    ""^^^  '"eA.UaUon 

of  thTr       '^'"' ^"=h  modii^cation  as  the  wisdom  J"? 

seen  the^^rhn'T;'^'"""'  P^™'"^^'  '^^  -^  haveArMr 
sem  there  had  been  constant  agi'tation  from  a  very 
smal  minority  of  British  residents  for  a  popular 
legislative  assembly.  Undoul  -y  this  d^and 
which  had  grown  very  little  u,  o'he  t  rneTf  the 
Amer,ean  Revolution,  was  increased  ve  y  larg  I 
by  he  outcome  of  the  Revolution;  in  the  /rs  pfac^ 
by  the  large  liberties  which  the  American  S^tat^' 
enjoyed   and,  in  the  second  place,  bv  t  e  grea     n 

Omano'^Sifl  T  T  ^^"'^'"^"'  ^^  -"-^  "- 
the  H^-'  •  .  ''  ^'"  '^"=  responsible  also  for 

CanadT -nTo'r'"'  ''""'  '^^^  ^r  a  division  o 
panada  into  two  parts.     It  was  quite  tVDTal  of 
British  administration  at  that  time  that  ^hiT^^fsi^n 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
sliouM  lia;e  been  reached  almost  wholly  without 
consultation  with  the  Governor-General  or  in  plain 
op|>osnion  to  his  advice.     The  first  leader  in  the 
movement  for  a  division  wa^  a  Quelx;c  merchant, 
Mr.  Lymburner,  who  was  sent  to  London  to  repre- 
D,,ch«..,  sent  a  committee  of  Cana<lians.    In  spite  of  the  fact 
con,ult«i    ™at  Sydney,  the  Colonial  Minister,  had  informed 
Dorchester  the  previous  year  that  there  would  be 
no  change  in  the  Quebec  Act,  the  Ministry  bc^an 
iramng  the  new  act  almost  at  once.    The  act  which 
vvas  to  settle  the  matter  finally  was  imroduced  into 
i^arhament  m  1790.  and  the  March  following  Dor- 
chester was  notified  of  its  intro.h.ction  and  asked 
to  go  to  London  and  assi.st  in  its  formation      He 
had  no  idea  that  it  was  the  intention  to  put  the  bill 
through  at  once,  so  he  did  not  hurry,  sailing  from 
Quebec  on  August  i8th.  but  the  bill  had  Income  a  , 
la^v  long  before  he  left  Canada.     Mr.  Lymburner 
was  the  chief  expert  consulted  by  Parliament  dur- 
ing the  consideration  of  this  act.     Lymburner  was 
opposed  to  any   measures   wliicli   would  gix-e  the 
irench-siKaking  people  a  dominant   voice  in  any 
legislative  assembly.    He  was  the  spokesman  of  the 
English    minority.      He    wished    a    representative 
house  of  assembly,  but  wished  the  matter  so  ar- 
ranged that  the   English,  although  greatly  in  the 
minority  of  population,  should  always  have  a  ma- 
_A„_ab_,urd  jority  ui  the  assembly.     This  absurd  and   unjust 
sc  leme  was  fundamentall)-  opposed  to  all  theories 
ot  democratic  go^crnment  upon  which  the  British 
tmpire  was  supposed  to  Ije  founded,  and  Parlia- 
ment would  not  listen  to  it.    It  is  impossible  to  learn 
who   was  really  responsible   for  the   Canada   Act 
ho  one  in  Canada  with  official  position  or  influence 
664 


Scheme 


DORCi.HSTER  GOVER.VOR  AND  CANADA   mvrDHD 
seemed   to  favor  it.     Certainly  the  sentiment   in  th 
Quebec  was  almost  unanimously  hostile  to  !t      "■o;.-- 
IS   probable   that    the   governing    immil^P    (^.'  „    '■"•'"'^y 
change  came  from  the  loyalists' of  C^  C  na  r'^"""" 
p  ..what  is  now  OntaricK-and  theTower  "hey 
were  able  to  exert  through   relatives  in  Engllnd 
The  debate  upon  tlie  bill  was  one  of  the  mosf  nas 
^onate  and  interesting  known  in  parhanLt   • 'h  s-' 
torj.     Tins  .s  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  scarcely 
any  of  H,e  debaters  talked  about  the  bill  at  a  1     The 
real  subject  was  the  French  Revolutio.,.  which  was 
then  getting  up  steam  r.nd  almost  u,„ler  way  a  „   . 

dunn^  th,s  debate  that  the  famous  ruptu  e  m  the-",, 
f      K  sh,p  of  Burke  an<l  Fox  took  place   Lox  sichrj"-"" 
^^lth  the  revolutionists  and  Burke  vehemently  on 
posing  them.     It  is  generally  believed  the  mLr^el 
would  have  taken  place  anyhow  because  Burle  f  U 
he  could  no  longer  travel  the  same  political  path  a 
i-ox.     The  circumstances,  however,   were  so  dra 

A   rorUL.\R   ASSEMBLY   AT   LAST 

JfT-of  V'°?r;-'^'  '"""'  '^''  Constitutional  Act 
of  I/9I,  divided  Canada  into  two  Provinces  called 
Lower  and  Upper  Camda  •     Ti,,. 
r.(  ^    >  r,      .^^"  >-anaaa.      -I  he  executive  power 
of  each  Province  was  in  tlie  hands  of  the  Governor 

bee.  and  ■•Upper"  means  toward  the  source  or  wh  ■/■  ^ 
can  Ontatio.     Those  readers  who  a:;  in"he":al  t'fThLt 

j:'coi.iTb7th::e"terj™"  "-""'"--'^  -  "^^■-» 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

co"«l;"   !"  "'%!:"^  °^  =*  Legislative  Council  and  an  Assem- 
Le»id..i,,  Dly.     1  he  members  of  the  Legislative  Coimcil   like 
Co«.n„d  the  Governor  and  his  Council,  were  appointed  by  the 
Sovereign,  but  unlike  them,  these  appointments  were 
for  life,  and  it  was  even  suggested  at  one  time  that 
they  be  made  hereditary.     The  present  Canadian 
Senate  is  the  legitimate  successor  of  this  legislative 
councd.     The  Assembly,  however,  was  an  elective 
body,  and  was  to  consist  in  b'l^r  Canada  of  not 
less  than  i6  and  in  Lower  Canada  of  not  less  than 
50  members.     Only  those  were  allowed  to  vote  in 
the  rural  districts  who  owned  land  to  the  value  of 
forty  shillings  a  year  net,  and  in  the  cities  a  quali- 
fication was  fixed  at  five  pounds  in  the  case  of  free- 
holders and  ten  ix>unds  in  the  case  of  lease-holders. 
The  term  of  the  Assembly  was  four  years.     The 
sessions  were  to  be  at  least  one  each  year,  but  the 
Governor  had  a  right  to  call  or  prorogue  them  at  his 
pleasure.     The   Governor  also  possessed   the  veto 
power.     This  act  also  made  provision  for  an  allot- 
ment of  land  in  each  Province  for  the  maintenance 
and  support  of  a  Protestant  clergy.    This  allotment 
was  about  one-seventh  of  all  land  "granted  or  to  be 
"dLy      f«"«'-"     As  it  would  be  im,x.ssible  that  all  this 
r»„vc"    'and  could  be  used  for  this  puqxise,  and  there  was 
fir»..pp.„a   dispute  as   to   what   constituted   the   Protestant 
clergy,  this  measure,  under  the  name  of  "the  clergy 
reserves,"  became  a  political  football  for  many  years. 
Another  peculiar  condition  of  the  act  was  that  the 
British   Parliament  reserved  to  itself  the  right  of 
fixing  duties:  in  other  words,  controlling  the  trade 
between  the  two  Provinces,  or  between  each  Prov- 
ince and  all  other  countries.    This  bill  of  1791  was 
in  many  ways  a  step  in  advance  and  toward  democ- 
666 


DORCHESTER  GOVERXOR  AN'D  CAXADA  omUED 
racy,  but  it  is  also  an  evidence  of  the  folk,  nf  ,i^- 
H.engnthin,att.,e..on,tn.e,"oatw;S"^ 

SIMCOE    THE    BUSY 

lie  Revo  ut.o„ary  War,  and  was  ambitions  to  d  l 
n>.-ipn,fied  his  office,  beinjj  one  of  tL.  ,,-'■'■»«'' 

rank.     E^entually  he  was  appointed  the  colonel  of 
667 


THE    TERCENTENARY    IirSTORY    OF    CANADA 
the  Queen's  Rangers,  and  when  the  Queen's  Raneers 
arnved  the  next  year  he  was  allowed  .o  put  on  his 
i.nifomi,  and  was  happy  tor  a  time.    The  first  Chief 
Justice  of  the  new  Province  was  OsKoode.  who  after- 
ward became  Chief  Justice  of  Ouel^^c.     Sinic,K.-'s 
misfortunes  were  not  at  an  end  when  he  got  his 
mditary  title,  for,  because  of  the  absence  of  a  ma- 
jority of  his  council,  he  could  not  be  sworn  in  and 
take  possession  of  his  office.     So  it  was  no^  until 
June,   1792,  that  he  was  able  to  leave  Ouebec  for 
p^rlL^.  ^PP*""  f ''"^''='-     He  arrived  at  Kingston  in  July, 
™„,.,        and  took  the  oath  of  office  on  the  Stli,  so  we  mav 
fm;  '^y  f^'  'he  birth  of  Ontario  was  July  8,  1792,  and 
N.w.rk      the  first  Parliament  was  called  to  assemble  at  Ni- 
agara, or  Newark  as  it  was  then  called,  on  Sep- 
teml*r  17th  of  that  year.     This  was  notable  as  the 
hrst  popular  legislative  assembly  ever  held  in  Can- 
ada.    John  Macdonnell  of  Cilengary  was  the  first 
Speaker  of  the  House.     This  .Assembly  was  com- 
posed, of  course,  almost  wholly  of  Loyalists,  at  any 
rate  of  English-speaking  peisons,  and  they  prob- 
ably were  very  happy  in  this  assembly,   and   felt 
great  pity  for  their  English  brethren  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  Lower  Canada.    The  first  assembly  did  very 
little  except  lay  down  the  ordinary  rules   for  the 
conduct  of  public  business.     The  Province  was  di- 
vided into  four  districts,  trial  by  jury  was  estab- 
lished   and  the  French  laws  of  old  Canada  were 
repealed.     This  was  to  be  a  Simon-pure  English 
Province,  and  it  has  continued  so  pretty  constantly 
::ZU,  •=^''="  ^°  '^''  day.     The  next  April  the  first  news- 
paper appeared,  the  Upper  Canada  "Gazette  "  or 
the    Arnerican  Oracle,"  which  was  the  official  paper 
of  the  Government. 

668 


l^ORCnnSTER  GOVERNOR  A.VD  CAN-AD,  o,V,MD 

Simcoc  wns  very  energetic  from  the  sta,'     Tf  i,; 
ener,^  ,„„  ,,en  n.ntche.I  with  c,,,!,  ",;„.;':»::;:. 
..  In.,...,,  rat,on   uouM   have  be.n   a   great     ucce  ^"' ""-'" 
He  n,a.le  a  jo„rney  ,„  Detroit  ,n  onler  ,o  X 
"Pon  a  place   for  the  seat  of  Cover,  nen       H  ! 
-judge.!  .hould  he  built  o„  the  river  UTrencS 
«  .,ch  he   rena,„e,l   the  Tha,„es,      The  loca  km   i^ 
where  the  city  of  Lon.ion.  0.,tario,  noj  stan         ^ 
first  S.mc,^  was  allowed  to  have  his  .li.,g  pretVv 
freely,  because  there  was  no  one  o^er  1  ,n    Dor 

,""  r  o'",'  ''"'''"'  ^^■'""=  '"^  Lie.,ter,;-Go  ; 

OE.VETS   AGENTS    IN    CANADA 

pJh    fh^T,     '    '"'""'^'-^    from    Versailles   to 

s^riot^SVii^roftT'^-r'-^ 

ca^fully  pav^^y  each  IS "stl^r^cT^^ 
denK,crats  ,„  England  who  haci  been  s^li' 

-ry  popular  L  the  uS^StSs^ThX.::? 
France  seemed  to  be  fighting  a  i^attle  to  tH  oft 
the.r  oppressors  similar  to  that  through  M  the 
Amer.cans  had  just  emerged.  W'ith  ddig  u  ,a  'fc 
of  log,c  the  A,.e,ican  people  did  ,,ot  stop!"   '",*: 

669 


Ain«fie«ni 

malie 

French 

h«ro 


The 

babiUoti 
become 
reiUen 

and  dis- 
contented 


THE    TERCENTFNARY    HISTORY    OF    CAXADA 
»"1er  that  the  help  ,l,cy  had  received  in  thor  stn.^ 

^e  KTn^nn,    I  .         "  T"!'"""  P'°P'«^-  ''"'  from 
■  MC  cause  of  the  Kevoliition.  a.i.l  when  Genet  thn 

c-^enn,he.o."'^'./^::^:;.;i;:;;^— :t.:;^ 

VVashrngton,  to  whon,  Josh  Billings  pMtiTol 
lo'iuial  but  apt  tribute,  "He  never  d,mJ  i  ■■ 

be,ng  c,ra,,ed  into  an  indefensible  war  widl^re'l 

The  stoo-  of  Genet's  career  in  the  United  States 
of  Ins  .n  r,j^,es  with  Jefiferson,  his  reK.ff  b  '  WashJ 
■nglon     Ins   ,leceit   and   final   overthrow    is   not   a 

Onadl?:!  "^°'^-  '''  °"'^  -nection":-,: 
Canadmn  history  is  Genet's  dissemination  of  French 
ag     tors  ,nto  Lower  Canada,  who.  conting  vhh  tl  c 

ri:^it«  'sir'""  ^^r- """■"•  •""• "-  ^^  - 

the  United  States,  caused  a  vast  amount  of  resi- 
les ness  and  discontent  where  for  a  Htlle  vvhi^e  p^ace 
had  prevailed.     Thi.  disturbance  can.e  iu      affh- 

TirilsThe'T^  '''^  'f  "'  '"^  "-'■  ^•--""■- 
iliis  was  the  fnie  the  f  reneh  population  of  C-m- 

aaa  onght  to  have  been  calm  and  deliberative    o  that 

they  might  show  their  appreciation  of  and  tale    d 

vantage  of  the  self-government  with  which  they  had 

been  mtrus.ed,  but  just  the  reverse  was  the  case 

They  were  distracted  in  their  attention  from  the 

problems  at  hand  to  the  old  dream  of  a^  £ 

670 


Mi 


■v,< 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 
coming  a  French  province.  At  the  same  time  there 
was  great  dissatisfaction  in  America  against  Great 
Bntam  because  of  various  circumstances  connected 

":',.' u  If'^'u^  °^  ^^''-  The  western  posts  wS 
st.ll  held  by  the  Br.tish  for  two  reasons;  first  tZ 
he  prov.s>ons  of  the  peace  treaty  regarding   the 

debts  to  English  creditors  by  Americans  had  not 
been  pa.d     There  was  the  trouble  with  the    ndian 

En'l  h"  'rr'""^^-  '^'"^  ^-satisfaction  betw^n 
England  and  America  helped  in  the  general  feeling 
of  .rritation  stirred  up  by  Genefs  emissaries  in  Que^ 

i™.  sli^^s'^^  "^"*'  '"  ■"^'"^  ^-^^-  '^^^         , 

THE    FIRST    PARLIAMENT    OP   LOWES    CANADA 

Meanwhile  the  first  Parliament  of  Lower  Canada  . 

had  met  on  December  17.  179..    The  fim  Speake  hS"^ 

of  the  House  was  J.  A.   Panet  of  0„Ph».  ^    ,   ,   i.gi.ia« 

^  J--  s.,/,iad  berd:siS:^b;'  :'°-^" 

King  as  Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Council.  There 
were  only  sixteen  English  members  of  the  first 
House,  which  caisisted  of  fifty  members.  This  first 
Parliament  must  have  been  a  very  interesting  one 
as  It  was  the  first  time  that  Frenchmen  and  Eifglish- 
nien  had  met  on  terms  of  equality  to  devise^laws 

It  vir.  7  u  T^^""  ''""""='  ^^"  '°  ^  conducted, 
e  ther^n  p"^  7"""^  'J""'  ^  ■"°''°"  ~"'^  be  made 
t  Ins  a^e  ■^"Th" '"  ^"?'"1^'  ^"^^  "^^  '^'"'^  ^^ould 
n  hfh  ^  T^  ■'°"'""*'  °*  **  «°"^«  ^as  kept 
n  both  French  and  English.  It  was  noticeable 
thioughout  this  first  Parliament  that  the  Enghsh 
rights  and  privileges  were  by  far  more  jealoullv 
v-anaaa-13  Vol.11 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

p!;,i...„,  safeguarded  than  they  are  to-day  in  the  same  Prov- 

si>sfo,fiv=  'nee,  lor  to-day  the  French  element  holds  swav  with- 

-"-       out  quesfon      This  first  Parliament  could  do  very 

httle  actual  legislation.     It  sat,  however,   for  five 

months  and  must  have  ccncerne<l  itself  with  a  great 

deal  of  debate:   but   with   those  o.tai.s   historians 

flf\  .."  T  '"'''""'  "'  ^°'"""'"0"s'y.  It  is  too  bad 
that  the  Jesuits  could  not  have  beei  nduced  to  write 
the  history  of  that  assembly,  for  with  their  pains- 
taking ways  and  careful  attention  to  details  they 
ould  have  given  us  a  very  interesting  and  valu- 
able picture  of  the  time.  About  the  only  tax  that 
was  then  imposed  was  on  wines  and  spirits,  simnlv 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  legislation.  ^^ 

Dorchester's  b.\d  blunder 
^T"  The  troubled  condition  of  the  whole  colony  made 
i.g„e^c   the  welcome  of  Lord  Dorcliester,  when  he  arrived 
.n   Quebec  on  the  23d  of  September,   1793,  very 
enthusiastic     The   city   was   illuminated   and   th^ 
whole  population  thronged  the  streets.   Seven  weeks 
later  he   opened   the   second   Parliament,    Novem- 
IZ  \l    fi      '"'f  «=ti"g  feature  of  this  Parliament 
was  the  financial  statement  which  Dorchester  sub- 
mitted to  it.    Tins  showed  a  deficiency  in  the  reve- 
nues of  about  $90,000,  which  deficiency  was  made 
up  by  the  British  Government.    A  short  time  after 
the   assembly   of   Parliament   Dorchester   issued   a 
proclamation,  requiring  officials,  civil  and  military 
o    exercise    diligence    to    detect    the    presence    of 
seditious  literature  or  persons  and  to  deal  with  them 
promptly  when  detected.     This  showed  that  Dor- 
chester w-as   fully  aware  of   the   machinations  of 
Genet   and   was   determined   to  circumvent   them. 

672 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 
yr/nn"i'  ^^.^"f'  h°^'^^-  '°  cause  any  feeling  ro„o, 

"  ordered 


-_r^ ,  ..v.,.^,ci,  lu  cause  any  teelinei 

of  apprehension  tha.  winter,  but  when  spring  came  °""'- 

on.    the    p-pnpral    f»^i;„™   _-  .,       '^  .    °    _    "=0 


:,  ,   , ^''  "">■  wiica  spnne-  came 

on,  tlie  general  feeling  was  so  restless  that  Dor- 
chester thought  it  best  to  order  a  roll  of  the  mil.tia, 
tha    It  should  be  ready  for  service.     This  call  re- 
vealed tht  extent  of  French  Canadian  disaffection. 
A  small  portion  of  this  element  of  the  population 
either  ,n  the  cities  or  the  country,  responded  to  the  call 
it  was  necessary  to  explain  to  them  that  this  militia 
service  did  not  mean  service  for  life  or  any  long 
period    but  because  their  feelings  had  been  worked 
i>l>on  by  the  agents  of  Genet  and  because  of  their 
deep-rooted  dislike  for  anything  English,  they  con- 
tinued   apathetic,   to   say   the    least.     Only   2000 
militiamen   were  called   for  in  all,   but  even  this 
small   number  Dorchester   found   difficulty   in   as- 
sembling.   Some  of  the  habitants  declared  that  they  „a.i,.„.. 
wished  to  remain  neutral,  being  unwilling  to  take"^'"" 
up  .   ns  for  either  side.     The  absurdity  and  the^r:, 
gnm  humor  of  this  attitude  did  not  occur  to  them 
U  can  well  be  imagined  that,  throughout  the  entire 
win  er  after  his  arrival,  Dorchester  was  in  a  very 
iinplea.  :nt  and  somewhat  irritable  state  of  mind 
He  was  especially  angered  at  the  evideuLC  of  sym- 
pathy M  the  enemies  of  England  found  in  the 
United  States.    This,  however,  was  a  thing  that  he 
might  have  expected,  and  it  is  surprising  that  this 
feeling  should  have  led  him  into  his  first  conspicuous 
indiscretion.     In  February,   1794,  a  deputation  of  Do. 
the  Miamis  waited  upon  him  to  ask  his  aid  and  "■"«''» 

sZ?h'    T'"'""5  f"'"  *"'"^^  ''°™'^-     He  made  ^ZZT' 
speech  to  them  which  none  of  his  friends  could  afford"""'""" 

Even  ,f  he  did  not  expect  it  to  be  quoted  or  reach 
673 


Called  to 
account 
by  the 
United 
Slates 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

the  ears  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  or  Entr 

land  ,t  was,  nevertheless,  likely  to  do  mi  chie    toa^ 

who  heard  it.     He  told  them  i„  effect  thTt  1  e  w  ' 

unable  lo  do  anything  for  them  because  "rom  The 

manner  m  which  the  people  of  the  Stii.^  n  ^ 

and  act  and  talk  on  thiLiL,  Tnd  fron    ^f    Z 

of  their  conduct  toward  the  sea.  I  shall  not  be  su™ 

pnsed  ,f  we  are  at  war  with  them  in  the  course  of 

the  present  year."     He  furthermore  said  Z  the 

Canadian  authonties  had  acted  in  a  most  peacefu! 

manner,    but   that   .     ir   mti,-,       ,  ,  P*^^*^^'"' 

hausted,  ^       ■'     '^"^  ^'"^°^'   ^-^- 

Now  the  inevitable  result  of  such  talk  as  this 
would  naturally  be  to  excite  the  Indians  to  ™ 
anger  toward  the  United  States  and  that  feeli™  d 
undoubtedly  be  accompanied  by  hostile  acts  and  den 
redations.     The  folly  of  a  Governoi-Ge  er  1  07*1" 
country  in  predicting  war  with  its  next  door  ndgh 
bor  ,s  too  patent  to  need  pointing  otit.     oTcours 
this  speech  soon  found  its  way  to  the  United  Sta  e  ' 
was  published  in  the  papers  and  reached  the  e^e  of 
the  Secretary  of  State,  Randolph.    He  at  once  for 
warded  It  to  the  British   Miilister  to  the  Un  ted 

Slint't  ^"^  '  "-°''''  ^"^  «-« 
was  compelled  to  transmit  it  to  EnHand      Tf  ,  -= 

.mpossible    that    the    British    cSa     Sec    t  "rT 

Dundas,  should  fail  to  give  Dorchester  an  oS 

reprimand  for  his  conduct,  no  matter  how  L7w\ 

his  regard  for  Dorchester.     He  ,vrote  ^•ery  sha  r^: 

o  Dorchester  and  took  him  to  task  both     o     hil 

speech  to  the  Indians  and  for  his  action  inpermi  tinl 

tt  :MTamf 'r',°^  ^  ''''  -  AmericaLoil';;:? 
the  Alianiis.  Dundas  was  undoubtedly  justified  in 
th.s  censure  not  only  because  of  the  fact  of  Do,- 

(^74 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 
Chester's  speech  but  because  of  the  state  of  n„hi;. 
sentient  ,„  England  at  the  fme.  jjlas  th^  n 
England  preparing  to  make  the  treaV  for  w^ich 

peniaps,  tliat  he  spoke  with  authority 

sell  on  tlie  ground  that  he  had  reearded  it  ,c  '*'"'"' 

sarv  at  that  f.v.,    .  ,  'cgaraea  it  as  ne^es-rtpiy 

sary  at  that  time  to  make  an  emphatic  declaration 

™n   co„„<|„.,i„„,  „  „„  „=„.  S  ta  ™i 

indt'dXtnrclLT''"^  "'"  '=°"^^='«'y  which T.,,,. 
of  war  u  f  r  1  ";  '/P'"'°"  °^  'he  probability  -- 

"I  war  was  well   founded.     There  wt<:  ;,   r;„^    ■;""'»'>'■= 
Montreal  in  which  the  mob  brovv^at     ^Sa 
into  promising  to  pardon  a   Frenchman  v!-hfi^ 
been  arrested  for  fraud.     Under  oZTryetm 
stances  such  a  mob  could  not  have  been 'collect^, 
^5 


Rumors  of 
invasion 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
but  it  seems  tha-  any  punishment  of  a  Frenchman 
""  "'atter  how  well  deserved,  was  likely  „;  c^u  e 
rese.,tn,en.    i„   ,:,e    Im-omcI,.    The   a.nhon.ie     we  c 
tlo.ng:  all  ,l,ey  could  to  „,aintain  order,  but  witho.u 
any  orf,an,>:ed  conspiracy  to  face,  it  was  ve  y    I 
ficnlt    to    act    effectively.     The    thir.l    Lep  sL  tre 
passed  an  ahen  act  to  prevent  the  comi„j,'„,        ' 
c..nn  ryof  otherthan  British  subjects,    fn  May     7 
Dorchestcr  called  out  the  n.ilitia.     Tne  resu  t  was 
further  exhibitions  of  l.a.l  feeling.     Rumo      we 
.n  constant  circulation  of  the  approach  of  ,  cFrencl 
army,  ,nnd  also  that  the  French  fleet  was  in  II 'e  Gu 
of  St.  Lawrence,  ready  to  a.h'ance  to  the  capture 
o    Quebec.     These  r.nnors  were  in  circulat^n     ot 
o^^ly  for  weeks  but  for  months  and  even  yea,s  and 
so  prejudiced  and  ignorant  were  the  habitants  tl  a 
they  actually  believed  than,  even  after  their  exnecta 
ttons  had  been  dashed  many  times.  ' 

SIMCOE'.S   TIFFS    WITH    noRCIIESTER 

::Z:L   Dorchester  persisted  in  his  determination  to  re- 

Dorche,,.,  Sign  and  m  September,  1795,  the  Duke  of  Portland 

wrote  to  Inm  expressing  his  great   regret  a     the 

<lec.s,o„  and  mforming  him  that  General  P™' 

Canada  IPr'"'",' '-'''"^"''""■G"^-^™-'-  "^  Lower 
Canada.  This  mdicated  that  ultimately  Prescott 
would  succee<l  Dorchester.    In  the  mean  t\ne,     hi 

'V"''.''"  T'  '"  ^''°""'^  '"'"  ="'d  t''^  l«»'=>s  he  was 
ec  n,ng  from  London,  he  ,vas  still  more  harassed 

ly  Ins^ntercourse  wtili_Sinicoe  at  Toronto."  As  we 
'  i3.v  this  n,i,„e  w.-,s  the  town  known  at  first  ~n   ,-q,   if 

1:^::; ::::::  ^--^"- "■-'■«- When ,!".;- ^ 


DORCHESTER  GOVERN'OR  AN'D  CAN'ADA  DIVIDED 

hi.s  o«,,  I  rov.ncc.  Tins  was  (|,c  tin.c  „f  tl.c  uar"'^'" 
kZ  :,";'":  U-<c.l  S.atcs,  and  Si.ncoe  wanted  ,o  Z'.', 
Keep  all  Ins  troc.ps;  he  asked  to  fortify  Toronto 
to  fo.nu!  a  new  capital  where  the  city  of  London 
"ow  ,s,  and  to  carry  on  a  host  of  other  pnhlic  work, 
wh.ch  n,  the  weak  condition  of  the  colony,  would 
have  been  most  impracticable  to  undertake.  Dor- 
cliester  replied  very  pleasantly  to  these  recmcsts  but 
negatu-cd  all  his  propositions'^   Not  only  we^e  there 

-t  won  ,    he  necessary  for  him  to  sen.l  to  Ouehec 
most  of  the  troops  that  he  had.    Dorchester  sTKnved 
very  plainly  that  in  the  event  of  war  Lower  cln 
ada  would  suffer  first,  Upper  Canada  bt;^  to.^re-" 
niote  for  attack.     Simcoc  did  not  rest  easily  under  d    , 
Dorc  esters  decision.     He  appealed  to  Dunlfas  a  d  -" - 
le  made  nmself  very  disagreeable.     Dundas,  i ,  hiss^^co. 
reply   d„l  not  sustain  Dorchester  as  strongi;  as     e 
sbonid  have  done.     In  fact,  be  rather  asfent  d  to 
S.mcoe  s  uleas.     This  emboldened  Simcoe  teas  e  t  n 
h.s  letters  to  Dorchester  that  Dundas  had  autho    '  d 
h  m  to  proceed  w,th  his  plans,  and  thus  was  the  con 
fl.ct  of  authority  continued  and  the  bad  feeling  in- 
creased.    About  this  time  Simcoe  learned  of  Gen- 
eral VVayne  s  campaign  against  the  Indians  which 
eemed  to  threaten  bis  own  Province.    This  was  the 
famous  campaign  in  which  General  Anthony  Wayne 
of  the  United  States  Anny  cleaned  up  the  Ma.fi^e 

teated  the  Indians  ,n  a  battle  whi J,  they  forced  ^""""^^•■ 
pon  him  near  Fort  Recovery  after  a  conflict  last- , Si": 
ng  two  days.     Later  be  moved  upon  the  Indian '"■"-' 
tillages  at  the  junction  of  the  Glaize  and  the  Mau- 
677 


Wayne 

and 

Campbell 


Simcoe 
tesigas, 
1796 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 

mee.  It  was  a  complete  rout,  the  villages  and  the 
crops  were  destroyed  and  an  American  fort  was 
built  there.  Another  battle  occurred  a  little  later  in 
which  Wayne  was  again  victorious.  It  was  while 
he  was  in  that  region  that  Wayne  had  his  very  in- 
teresting correspondence  with  Major  Campbell,  the 
commandant  of  the  British  fort  nearby.  This  cor- 
respondence is  exceedingly  rich  in  the  language  of 
crimination  and  recrimination.  Major  Ciunpbell 
started  the  trouble  by  asking  under  what  authority 
an  American  army  was  invading  his  territory.  This 
rather  took  Wayne's  breath  away  considering  the 
fact  that  this  British  fort  was  actually  on  American 
soil,  and  he  fired  literary  hot  shot  in  reply.  The 
correspondence  continued  for  some  time,  but  noth- 
ing really  ever  came  of  it.  Wayne's  victory  settled 
the  Indian  warfare  in  that  region,  and  was  as  con- 
cki      e  and  effective  as  any  one  could  wish. 

Simcoe  continued  to  hiive  friction  with  Dorchester 
and  at  length  determined  to  resign.  In  that  con- 
test there  is  no  doubt  that  Dorchester  was  not  only 
technically  but  absolutely  right,  and,  while  Simcoe 
did  many  things  for  the  Province  and  was  energetic 
and  aggressive  and  industrious,  it  is  questionable 
whether  his  administration  was  on  the  whole  bene- 
ficial. He  finally  resigned  in  1796  and  returned  to 
England  that  fall.  He  saw  service  later  and  held 
high  offices  in  San  Domingo,  India,  and  Plymouth, 
but  died  when  he  really  ought  to  have  been  most 
efficient,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four.  The  same  year 
that  he  resigned  his  position  in  Upper  Canada, 
Lieutenant-General  Robert  Prescott  arrived  at  Que- 
bec to  become  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Lower  Can- 
ada and  Commander-in-Chief  in  North  .America. 
£78 


DORCHESTEP  GOVERXOR  A.VD  CANADA  DIVrDED 
Till;   DRI'ARTURE   OF   DORCHESTER 

He  reached  Ot.cbcc  in  the  summer  of  1796  and  a 
few  days  later,  o„  the  9th  of  July,  Dochester  left  for 
img  and.  H,s  departure  was  reRretted  tliroud,  tlie 
whole  ProyM,ce,  and  the  addresses  that  were  pre- 
sented to  h„„  from  various  todies  and  sections 
showed  an  appreciation  of  his  great  services  to  the 
country  He  retained  his  office  as  Governor-Gen! 
e  a  until  Apr,!  27,  ,797,  „.hen  Prescott  succeeded 
him  m  nanie  as  well  as  in  fact.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  high  rank  of  Dorchester  among  the 
rulers  of  Canada,     His  connection  with  it  eJnded 

Wolfe  T:  °'  ''""'''  ^°'''>-  ^''''-  "^  ^-^  ^vith 
\  olfe  at  the  conquest,  and  from  that  time  on  al- 
most continuously  he  had  intimate  relations  with  the 
country  s  affairs.  It  is  regrettable  that  his  last  ad^ 
ministration  should  have  been  less  successful  than 
the  first,  but  It  IS  well  to  remember  that  at  that  th^e 

iechtoThetr  "='"'•  '""■  "^^  i-''--'-"  -f  his 
Sri  nf     -'''^""^'"/793  was  largely  due  to  the 

V  i  h  vJl^i.l  r''  '"''  °^  "^*  '"^"y  embarrassments 
rea"  ^  """'  surrounded.     That  address  was 

l,^^\  ^r^  conspicuous  blunder  in  all  his  career 
and  should  not  mar  in  the  slightest  degree  the  value 
o  his  services  both  to  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  for  m  h,s  other  acts  he  alwavs  strove  to 
maintauj  peaceful  relations  and  to  advance  the  .^-os" 
perity  of  both  peoples. 

Two  events  of  Dorchester's  time  could  hardly  be 
Th  '"  «^."'°7^^''"'out  breaking  the  continuity 

-Ihese  were  the  visit  of  the  Duke  of  Kent  and  the 
creation  of  the  Anglican  Diocese  of  Quebec     Tlie 
Duke  of  Event  was  then  Prince  Edutd  and  was 
679 


•.Onir  and 

con.spicti- 
oub  service 
'i>r  Canada 


The  Duke 
of  Kent  in 
Quebec 


Prince 
Kdward 

almoat 
cripturtd 
hy  the 
French 


Five  years 

at  Halifax 


First 
Anglican 
biabop  of 
Quebec 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    CF    CAMADA 

afteruanl  ,l,e  father  of  Q>,een   X'ictoria.     He  ar- 

Z      '.','  r"'f''  '"  ^"«^"'''  '7'5'.  in  command  of  the 
Seventh  I-us.leers.     He  was  very  ,K,pular  in  0„eb«c 

Hie  Duke  took  a  prominent  pan  in  the  organiza- 
■on  of  a  socety  of  tnusical  a.natenrs  an.l  in  va  iou, 
ways  became  very  popular  with  the  inhabita-  ts  n 
January.  17,^4,  he  receive.!  orders  to  join  S,r  Charles 
J^ray.  ancestor  to  the  present  Viceroy,  i„  the  West 
nd.es  and  left  Canada  by  way  of  like  Champ  aTn 
ami  Boston.  He  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  6th 
of  Fehruary  on  a  small  packet,  which  was  very 
nea  y  captured  by  the  French  cruisers.  If  th^ 
French  oftcers  had  known  that  an  Eughsh  prince 
was  on  board  that  little  packet,  they  Lg luTve 

w'ri;!  r '"''']"'  ""^"  '^  "p- '"  -^-"  «- 

we  are  left  to  speculate  as  to  who  would  be  sittine 

Pnnce  Edward  safely  reached  Martinique  and  took 
part  tn  the  capture  of  Port  Bourdon  and  St  Luda 
He  was  then  ordered  to  Halifax,  and  arrived  there 
on  the  lotb  of  May,  ,794.  For  nearly  five  years  or 
unt.I  1798,  he  remained  in  command  of  the  forces 
tnere  and  then  returned  to  England.  He  was  as 
popular  ,n  Halifax  as  he  had  blen  in  Quebe7and 
ccmmbuted  very  tr>uch  to  the  enjoyment  of'  t^fe 

Dr.  Mountain  was  created  the  first  Church  of 
England  b.shop  of  Quebec  in  ,793.  He  was 
another  of  those  Huguenots  whom  Catholic  France 
drove  from  her  borders  only  to  strengthen  her 
greatest  enemy.  Dr.  Mountain  became  acquainted 
With  the  bishop  of  Lincoln,  who  had  been  Pitt's 
680 


Death  of 

Chitl 

JuBtiC« 

Smith 


Adct 

French 

Mil 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Ncithj,      private   secretary,   ami   it   was   through   him   that 

buiidiii(      Mountain  was  appointed  bishop.     The  Church  of 

roTbr  E"ff'-"«1  was  very  weak  at  that  ti.ne  in  Canada. 

There  were  only  six  clergymen  in  Lower  Canada 

i.nd  three  in  Upper  Canada.     In  Quebec  there  was 

neither  church  building  nor  rectory,  and  the  lirst 

Anglican  services  in  Quebec  were  held  in  the  Recol- 

let  Church  and  afterward  in  the  Jesuit  chapel. 

Another  change  that  occurred  in  Dorchester's 
time  was  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Smith,  who  was 
succeeded  by  Osgoode,  who  had  been  Chief  Justice 
in  Upper  Canada. 

PRESCOTT's  BRIEr  t.^gime 

General  Prescott,  who  succeeded  Dorchester, 
had  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  before 
coming  to  Canada  had  been  Governor  of  .Martinique. 
liis  .  ..;e  in  Canada  was  a  brief  one,  '^ii»  was  filled 
with  interesting  events.  Genet  had  bee;i  succeeded 
by  Fauchet  and  in  turn  by  Adet  as  French  Minister 
to  the  United  States.  The  latter  was  almost  as 
mischievous  in  his  interference  in  Canadian  aflFairs 
as  Genet.  French  spits  continued  to  circulate 
throughout  Lower  Canada  Hivd  kept  the  population 
stirred  up.  All  of  the  Governors  of  that  time 
imagined  that  the  United  States  Government  was 
aiding  in  this  mischievous  work,  but  this  was  not 
true.  Vermont  indeed  was  unofficially  helping  it 
along.  Only  a  few  years  before,  the  reader  will  re- 
member, Vennont  contained  some  very  eminent  citi- 
ens,  among  them  Mr.  Ira  Allen,  who  had  been  active 
in  wishing  to  return  to  the  British  rule  because  Con- 
gress would  not  admit  Vermont  as  a  State.  Now 
that  Congress,  in  1791,  had  admitted  Vermont  as  a 
682 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDKIl 
State,  some  of  its  citizens,  with  the  zeal  of  new  R.-.. 
converts,   were  very  iKrrniciously  anti-lCiijrlish     i,,'""-.!'- 

nat^.e,l,  The  Ohve  liranch,'  Unuxl  fr.„„  Ostcn.l  ""' 
w,th  20,000  stan.l  of  arms,  art.llery  an.l  a,nnu,nit,o,i 
on  M,  was  captured  by  the  Untish.  This  carc„ 
was  lx,un,!  „r  Vermont  and  as  snpe-cargo  it  con- 
tame.1  our  old  riend,  Mr.  Ira  .Mien,  ile'e x„lai„e.l 
hat  he  lKH,«ht  these  arms  for  the  militia  of  V'er.nont. 

m  I,nKl.md,  th.it  they  were  intended  for  Vermonters 
who  wshed  to  fight  for  France  in  Canada.  At  w 
?Jt'r  "  -""f  f  '"^  disquieting  circnmstance  and 
Ar^enca  '""■"'°"    '^'''""    ^"^'""''    ^'"' 

Among  the  dupes  or  maniacs  of  this  A.let  rcrimc  a„ 
was  one  Dav.d  McUne.     He  was  an  Americm  c,"!-  -"-• 

b?  Th"       ?'"'  ?'  °^  '^''"'^  emissaries  and  circu-^S: '° 
ated  throughout  Lower  Canada  endeavoring  to  e^- 
list  the  natives  m  the  Frencl,  cause.    At  Qiu..|,ec  he 
attemptecl  to  put  through  a   foolish  plan   for  tie 
capture  of  the  ctadel  by  drugg„,g  the  garrison.    He 
was  arrested  on  May  ,0,  1797,  an<l  pretty  rapidly 
hustled  off  to  execufon,  which  took  place  on  July 
21.  under  harsh  c.rcumstances.     The  fact  that  he 
was  aji  American  citizen  complicated  matters  con- 
siderably and  led  to  more  recriminations  1.  w°  „ 
Canada  and  the  United  States,     McLnne  ,vas  Zw 
msane,  and  the  as>;lum  was  the  place  for  him  rather 
^an  the  gallows.    There  were  other  schemes  on  fo^t  c     h  ■ 
for  the  capture  of  (    .  ,da  by  the  French.  bu,S-™V" 
all  came  to  naught.     Had  there  been  any  real  cc^  """ 

i- reach,  this  capture  might  have  been  easily  c.  "xted, 


■1  V 

■1/ 


End  of 
Rei^n 
ot  Terror 


Prescou' 

quarrel 
Willi  the 
council 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
but  the  Americans  had  no  desire  to  see  (  L„ada 
I're.ich.  They  expected  to  take  it  in  a  few  vers 
themselves!  During  all  this  time,  of  course,  hen  .,.,, 
ragmg  m  France,  which  ,vas  at  war  with  Ens^land 
ami  half  of  Europe.  But  with  the  end  of  the  Rei™ 
of  Terror  and  later  the  coming  of  Na,>.leon.  these 
mterferences  of  French  agents  in  Canada  practically 
ceased  and  the  colciy  settled  itself  down  to  what 
seemed  hkely  to  be  a  period  of  peace. 

MILNES    AS    ADMINI.STRATOR 

The  important  event  of  Prescotfs  administration 
was  h,s  quarrel  with  the  council  on  the  subject  of 
land  grants.     This  was  a  controversy  running  back 
several  years  and  related  to  some  Crown  land  which 
had  been  thrown  open  to  the  public  and  for  which 
many    applications    had    been    made    which     for 
some  reason  had  not  been  acted  upon.    The  amount 
was  not  large,  and  the  whole  was  rather  a  petty 
subject,  but  Prescott  and  his  council  violently  dis- 
agreed about  it,  and  the  upshot  of  the  affair  was 
tliat  m  1799  Prescott  was  recalled.    He  was  allowed 
to   retain   the   title   of   Governor-General   and   the 
i2,ooo  a  year  of  income  until  ,805.     Robert  Shore 
Milnes  succeeded  him  at  Quebec  in  1799  although 
hokhng   only    the    office   of    LietUenant-Governor. 
Mdnes,  hke  his  predecessor,  had  been  Governor  of 
Martinique,     He  was  a  valuable  man  and  a  goo<l 
administrator.    During  his  regime  at  Quebec  affairs 
were  N-ery  quiet,  owing,  as  we  liax-e  said,  to  the 
^TTV,    ^-^  '^''''"'''  Revolution.     Nelson's  victory 
oUh^Nde^  1798.  evoked  so  much  enthusiasm  tliat 

residuits.     a,  chief  falure  wa,.  Ihe  future  hero's  infatuation 
684 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 

EnSnd  ';''f'P^'°"  '"r'^'  '1^  Government  of  A„,iea„ 
i.ngland  in  prosecuting  tlie  war  brought  in  almost  ""-"■•^' 
$3S.ooo.    About  the  same  time  a  movement  was  °n  '""'  "" 
au^rated  for  budding  a  cathedral  at  Quebec  for  the 
Anghcan   Church.     The   cathedral   was   completed 
for  consecration  in  ,804,  and  its  centennial  w^Tb 

War  Department  and  in  its  general  rigidity  and 
awkwardness  .ts  exterior  looks  more  Hke  a  barracks 
or  jad, ban  a  church.    It  cost  $80,000.    Along  wth 

o    es  abhsh"  the  Anglican  Church  in  Canada    This 

estabhshment"  would  mean,  of  course,  tha^a  ce 

am  percentage  of  the  public  funds  should  be  d  - 

verted  to  ,ts  support,  but  the  project  failed  at  that 

Sro'-lie^''^^''^^''^-'^^''^^'^— CS 

Another  ecclesiastical  subject  at  this  same  time  wasr..  j„„„ 
he  disposition  of  the  Jesuit  estates.     The  Jesuits"-" 
had  through  various  circuntstances  fallen   nto  d  "e 
pute  with  their  ecclesiastical  superiors,  and,  in  17O4 
tl>ey  were  expelled   from  France  and  Spam    ami 
".ne  Kais   later,    1773,   Pope  Clement   XIV  su^ 

mtil  revived  by  the  Pope  in  1814.     The  lands  be- 

^^!^!L^^^±_^^^^J^}^omeJro<^^  was  naturally 

Among  those  present  on  the  latter  occasion  was  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Camerbury,  who  crossed  the  At.am  c,  U  c  fit 
.n^'Te"  r"fT'"  '°  ""  ^O'  '-  '"^  Purposeo    attend 

^.:rof:^l.^S™„lj;i---'-p-opa, 

6S5 


Clianycs 
in  [he 
bishopric! 


Milnes's 

exhaustive 

report 


THE  TERCI-.NTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
larpe.  As  tliesc  Iniuis  were  granted  to  tlie  Jesuits  on 
account  of  tlicir  .elisions  work,  and  as  tliey  were  not 
benip  nscd  for  that  ininwsc,  various  projects  to  fi-aiu 
control  of  tlicni  for  the  (iovernnient  were  proix)sed 
but  iiothniR:  was  done  until  tSoo.  when  Father  Cazot' 
the  last  of  the  American  Jesuits,  died.  It  was  nnally 
decided  that  they  should  become  the  property  of  the 
Crown,  and  the  Governor  recommended  that  the 
annual  income  should  be  devoted  to  educational 
purposes. 

Monsignor  liailly,  coadjutor-bishop  to  Bishop 
tluhert,  died  in  1794,  and  Monsis„or  Donaut 
was  named  in  his  stead.  Bishop  Hubert  re- 
sipied  in  1797,  and  Bishop  Donaut  became  full 
Bishop.  Monsignor  Plessis  was  then  apiwinted 
coadjutor.  Plessis  was  one  of  the  most  aggressive 
and  able  of  all  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  Can- 
ada, and  he  was  the  first  to  be  olificially  recognized 
by  the  knglish  Government  as  Bishop,  This  cere- 
mony was  performed  on  January  27,  1806,  lie  tak- 
mg  the  oath  on  that  day,  his  coadjutor.  Panel,  tak- 
mg  the  oath  on  the  following  8th  of  February, 

VITAL   STATISTICS   OF    LOWER    CANAriA    IN    180O 

We  are  indebted  to  Milnes  for  an  exhaustive  report 
to  the  King  on  conditions  in  Canada  for  the  year 
1800,  the  beginning  of  the  century.  He  estimates 
the  population  of  Lower  Canada  at  160,000  and  the 
militia  at  about  38,000.  The  annual  cost  of  the 
military  establishment  was  about  $1,000,000,  and 
there  was  a  deficiency  in  the  revenue  of  $60,000, 
which,  of  course,  the  Imperial  Government  had  to 
make  up.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  population 
of  Lower  Canada  had  gr.Hvn  in  the  forty  years 
686 


DORCilESTER  GOVERNOR  AND  CANADA  DIVIDED 
since  the  conquest  from  about  60.000  to  ifwooo 

the  Maritime  Provmces,  tliat  is,  New  Bn.nswick 
ancINova  Scotia,  contains,  m  tl.  neighi^r^? 
60^.     T^,e  mcrease  m  Lower  Canada  fron,  Oo,- 

seem  to  us  to  be  very  great,  was  on  the  whole  a 
verj'  satisfactory  showinir     All  nf  .v  ■ 
h,.  .1,         .      ,  ,    """'"6-    '^^il  ot  this  increase  was 
bv   the  natural  birth  rate,  for  aside  from  the  Tew 
English  vyho  came  in  at  the  close  of  tl™  Revolu^ 

mto  the  Province  whatever.  Of  the  160.000  ,30,- 
000  were  French  Canadians.  From  1O08  the  date 
o    the  founding  of  Quebec,  to  t7S9,  one'  IS 

had  JZ'T?\  "  f"""''"""  '^f  ^'>^^-'-  Canada 
ha.,  amounted  to  only  70,000,  a  very  small  rate 

This  shon-s  how  much  more  beneficen7Engl7sh  i^le 

was  to  the  habitants  than  French  rule.     T  ey  hid 

gained  ground  very  slowly  even  after  the    ear  of 

the  Iroquois  menace  had  been  removed.     This  ,s  a 

arTiot  n?°"7  '"'  — ^-'^^e  surrotmdng. 
are  not  necessarily  conducive  to  large  populationT 
A  cont  nued  growth  of  the  French"^  cSLls  in 
the  last  century  is  another  proof  of  that  fact  The 
Government  of  Canada  at  the  opening  of  the  nme- 
teenth  century  could  be  very  weU  satiffied  wkh    he 

the  genera  feelmg  of  content  and  security  whicli 
pervaded  all  classes.  In  spite  of  its  failings  and  he 
raany  obstacles  which  opposed  it,  the  English  ad- 
ministration had  been  a  decided  success.  We  need 
to  look  at  these  things  at  this  time  not  only  t^- 


Rapid 
(.'a  in  in 
I'opulation 


English 
rule  b«ner 
than  the 
French 


MilncR 
returns  i 
Bnt;Un>l 


Canadien 

appears. 

1806 


THE  TI:kCI..\TU,VARY  history  of  CAN-ADA 
cause  it  is  a  proper  time  to  take  stock  but  because 
n  a  e.v  years  w-  shall  see  how  Canada  was  men! 
aced  from  without  and  from  within  by  movements 
wh.ch  were  calculated  to  destroy  the  tmity  ate 
prosperity  of  the  country. 

In  August  ,805,  Milnes  returned  to  England  be- 
cause of  ba,l  health,  and  he  turned  over  the  gon^rn- 
ment  to  .Mr.  Thomas  Dunn.     There  is  v  rv  linle   o 

pToies'  '";"■  "V"' "°  ■^""-•■'>-  --  °  ■ 

Goven    r '  H         "'"  \"'""'  ^•''"'"'^''^  LietUenant- 

terl  ,  TT  '?  ''"^■^  '^°"'''-'--"^''  *l^^  f"v  'wat- 

ers that  were  before  him  with  discretion  and  tact 
but,  possibly  because  he  met  with  no  great  prol  len  s 
be_  is^  not  reuK-mbered  with  any  particular  Lidn  s  .' 

MiW  •     r"     ■'    ComKilor,    assumed    office    01, 
M.lness  departure,  came  into  Canada  early   beinj 
there  at  the  time  of  Montgomery's  attack.    He  wa! 
a  man  of  common  sense  and  intelligence  and  Id 
,  mmistered  affairs  well.    .Uout  this  tfme,  or  "n  nI 

Le  Canadien  appeared.  It  was  printed  entirely  m 
French  an.l  assumed  to  speak  for  the  entire  Fench 
Canadian  population.  It  was  started  by  subscriS 
and  from  the  beginning  had  a  wide  ci^rculat  on  and 
exercised  great  influence.  It  was  no  doubt  a  vfru 
lent  and  aggressive  sheet.  Assuming  to  J  lo^k- 
.n?  out  solely  for  the  interests  of  the  French  Ca- 
nadians, It  always  took  an  attitude  of  complaint 
against  and  attack  on  the  English  adminis   at  o 

a  lintish  head,  it  hit  it.     It  will  thus  be  seen  how 
-.schievous  such  a  journal  could  be  in  such Tp^- 


DORCHESTER  GOVERNOR  AXD  CANADA  DIVIDED 

coes  resignation  m  1796,  we  find  very  few  events"'""^" 
of  mucl,  consequence.     Peter  Russell  was  the  ad- '^^".t 
numstrator  until  the  arrival  of  General  Hunter  in 
I/Q9-      Russell   was  a  wealthy  man  as  the   times 
were,  and  he  conducts  affairs  with  an  eye  to    ,  - 

emw'md"  ::"'"'•     ■""   '''"'■'"''   ~'>''""-'   t'> 

fat^o  ^  '>"■'''  '""''•■  '^•"Slislnnen.    The  ,K>pula- 

e  V    s^f'f   !  ^-■'^«•■■'^»t-l  =>'  70.718,  sho'wmj,  a 

Hunte,,  who  came  to  the  Province  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  nr  r-99,  was  also  in  militaiy  command  ^ 
the  troops  of  l.,th  Provinces.  On  tiL  acco  he 
was  very  often  in  Quehec,  and  his  career  in  L^cr 
Canada  is  not  important.  He  die.I  in  1805,  and  Z 
next  year  Sir  Francis  Gore  took  possession  of  the 
government.  Parliament  met  at  that  time  in  York 
a  primitive  village,  hardly  suitable  for  the  gathenW 
of  such  an  important  body.  ^ 

CR.^IG   AT    QUEBEC 

Itat'es'ttrh  *"'''''"  ^'■'''  ^^'■'^'"  «"d  'he  United  s..„. 
states  were  beginning  to  be  strained,  and  the  bu-  "'«"■"■• 

past  ten  or  a  dozen  years  will  soon  give  way  to  the^''=- 
story  of  war.     The  encounter  between  the  Xhesa 
peake    and  the  "Leopard"  occurred  in  1807  ju     I  e- 
fore  the  arrival  of  the  successor  of  Milnes  fnVower 
Canada,  ana  it  mcreased  the  restless  feeling  between 
the  two  countries.     The  administrator,  Dunn    or 
Roma     ;  .T"i'V°  '^  ''''"  '"  ^-^■"-^.  ad  The 
was  full  of  ioyalty  and  patriotic  injunctions  to  the 
habitants.     In  t«e  fall  of  the  year,  Sir  James  Craig 
689 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

iZ^  the  new  Lieutenant-Governor,  arrived.  Craig  was 
equipmco.  apITOinted  largely  liccause  it  was  felt  that  in  case 
of  war  between  Canada  and  the  United  States  his 
mihlary  training  would  fit  hin,  f„r  the  conimand. 
lie  had  Ijeen  in  the  Revolutionary  Wa,-  y.as 
wounded  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  with  Hurpoyne's 
army  that  surrendered  at  Saratoga.  His  military 
trauiing,  however,  did  not  come  into  play  during 
the  war  because  war  was  delayed,  and  these  very 
mihtary  qualities  proved  an  obstacle  to  his  successful 
administration  of  the  Province. 

Discord  between  himself  and  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly began  during  his  first  year.  There  was 
much  opposition  in  the  Assembly  to  the  pres- 
ence of  judges  as  members  of  the  Ugislative 
Council.  We  may  well  sympathize  with  that  feel- 
ing, and  undoubtedly  it  is  a  proper  sentiment  but 
very  hkely  at  the  time  it  was  brought  forth  because 
he  judges  were  all  Englishmen,  being  appointed  by 
the  Crown  and  allowed  to  hold  office  in  the  As- 
sembly by  virtue  of  their  jjosition  as  judges  The 
Assembly  passed  a  resolution  condemning  the  prac- 
tise of  the  judges  taking  part  in  political  affairs 
H„.  A     !u^  Legislative  Council  defeatetl  the  measure. 

»p.ii.d      ^"°ther  source  of  discord  was  the  presence  in  the 
b.e.u..h.  Assembly  of  a  Mr.  Hart,  a  Representative  of  high 
"•'-      character  from  Three  Rivers,  whose  only  fault  was 
that  he  was  a  Jew.    For  that  reason  alone  the  As- 
sembly expelled  him  from  membership.    In  spite  of 
this  fact,  as  in  the  case  of  Bradlaugh  in  England 
his  constituents  returned  him  and  again  he  was  ex- 
pelled and  again  he  was  returned.    After  his  third 
election  the  House  attempted  to  compass  his  dis- 
qualification by  passing  a  bill  prohibiting  Jews  from 
690 


DORCHESTER  COVHRNOR  AND  rAXADA  UIVIDH.. 
beins:  candidates  for  election.  This  action  merclv 
ansercl  the  Governor,  a„,I  he  onlere,!  a  ,liss..lmion 
of  Parhament,  at  the  same  time  censuring  the  As- 

S  ;;r  eT/t"  "'^  ""'"""''■     '"  ^"'^'^  "f  "-  -"  ""- 
plan  justice  of  the  case  on  the  side  of  Mr    I  fart  ^"<"" 

ami  of  tl,e  Legislative  Council,  in  which  the  !•:„,'  i  1 

turned",,'  ""r'"'"'"=""'  ""^  ^•"^""=''  ^•'•"-l-'s  re-' 
turne,,  thcr  Representatives  to  the  Assemhly  by 
larpe  majont.es.  The  Assemhly,  when  it  met 
passed  a  resolution,  hy  innuendo  cens.u-iuf,  ,l,e  GoJ: 

o    Crai.  the  V        ""''  "?  '"""^  ""-■  ^--rnorship 
ot  Cra.g  the  Imes  were  sharply  drawn  between  the 
two  races^  tl,e  nuRlish  on  the  side  of  the  (ioverno 
and  the  French  aj^ainst  him.     This  was  a    itua  ion 
an  wh,ch  there  could  be  nothing,  n.ore  seno" 

le  Irovn,ce.     It  was  a  thing  which  the  legislators 
and  Munsters  m  Lon.lon  ha.l  cspeciallv  aimed  to 
prevent,  for  they  well  knew  the  onlv  wav  tl     Pro 
mce  cottld  grow  was  hy  a  con^^et'e  fnsion  of  the 

wo  dements  mto  one  body.     Craig,  howe^•er,  v  a 
a  man   whose  natt.re  and   military  training  made 
.t  nnpossd.le  for  him  to  use  tact.     He     "^  S 
aung  also,   and   that   led   the   Opposino     ,o     ot 
SKler  hun   weak.      He  made   the  ibsurd  error  of 'l. 
suppressing  the  press  and  office  of  "[.e  Canadien  "  °  cL'.<„e„- 

w^    H  rr'"'"f,'  ^''^'  ""'^'"^■"  °f  ""-■  ■'^y^pathiWrs'"""'"'^ 
w.t    the  .Assen,bly.    The  Governor  had  grown  tired 
of  tins  situation,  and  he  appealed  to  the  home  Gov 
ernment   to   change   the  Canadian   Consti,     on  so 
that  he  could  hold  the  Assembly  u.  check   hmt^ 
Governtnent  refused  to  accede  to  this  req  ,est      In 
Ae  mean  t,„,e,  affairs  between  the  Governor  and  t  le 
Assembly  were  somewhat  patched  up.   Craig  allowed  ..„„es 
a  bdl  d.squahfymg  judges  from  seats  in  the  HoTse ''-"■«'<' 
691 


reiigns,  i 


THE  TERCK.NTF.NARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
to  go  tlin.uKli  he  Council  :uh1  signed  it  and  the 
Asseinhlj  passci.  most  of  the  bills  which  he  had  rec- 
otnmcndcd.  Witli  the  affairs  in  this  some  hat 
harnionioiis  condition,  Craig  thought  it  a  goml  time 
to  resign  and  lie  did  so.  In  |„ne,  1811,  he  'eft  Mr 
Duiui  again  in  control  and  went  back  to  ••  nf  !a.  d 


V* 


«9a 


iNADA 


and  the 
had  rec- 
Miic  hat 
kkI  time 
'eft  Mr. 
;!a.d. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX 

THE   OPENING    OI'   THE    WAR    OF    l8t2 

U^-FORTtJNATE  and  reactionary  as  was  the,v„„. 

^    appomtment  of  Craig,  that  of  his  successor  J:"" 

was  hHle  better.  Sir  George  Prevost  hecon.e  Gov-  """ 
ernor-General  of  the  whole  colony  and  arrived  in 
Quebec  m  September,  i8ri.  He  was  a  younf^er 
man  than  Craig,  was  born  in  New  York,  and  had 
seen  some  service,  not  in  the  Revolution,  but  in  tlie 
West  Indies.  We  shall  see  in  the  sncceeding  chap- 
ter  how  he  faded  to  take  hold  of  the  opportunity 
which  came  to  Iiim  in  "the  War  of  i8r2." 

REAL    CAUSES 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  liere  to  give  in  detail  the 
causes  of  that  war.  Like  the  Revolutionary  its 
causes  were  more  temperamental  than  they  were 
statutory.  Undoubtedly  American  commerce  had 
been  injured  by  the  proclamations  and  counter- 
proclamations  of  non-intercourse  made  by  French 
and  English.  The  mistake  of  the  United  States  in 
issuing  a  proclamation  on  the  same  lines,  called  th- 
embargo,  refusing  on  its  side  to  trade  with  other 
nations,  was  a  suicidal  poli.  and  inflicted  great 
damage  upon  the  United  .S..aes,  particularly  upon 
^ew  England,  whose  vessels  lay  rotting  at  the 
wliarfs.  France  was  really  the  originator  of  this 
693 


Causes 
Icmpcrj 
menral 


Aoll- 

KngU»h 
wnUaint 


Tbc  right 

of  KJUcb 


United 
States 
long 
yearned 
for  wsr 


TIIPl    tercentenary    history    of    CANADA 
policy  of  non-intercourse.  In.t  England  was  chiefly 
blamed  m  the  Unite.l  States.     The  reason  for  this 
was  the  general  anti-Iuiglish  attitude,  which  liad  not 
grown  much  less  bitter  since  tlie  Revolutionary  war 
and  the  fact  that  naturally  most  of  the  trade  of  the 
United  States  was  with  the  English.     The  other 
cause  of  irritation  was  the  impressment  of  Ameri- 
can seamen  by  British  ships.     The  British  authori- 
ties claimed  the  right  to  search  any  vessel  anywhere 
either  in  an  English  port  or  on  the  high  seas    in 
order  to  find  British  sailors  who  were  serving  un- 
der another  flag  that  they  might  escai^e  service  in 
their  own  country.    The  British  tiavy  was  suffering 
heavily  from  desertions,  and  this  drastic  step  was 
taken  to  recruit  the  force.     No  such  right  could  be 
entertained  by  civilized  nations,  either  at  that  time 
or  to-day,  and  even  if  such  a  right  had  been  sup- 
ported by  usage  at  that  time,  the  harsh  and  arbitrary 
methods  used  by  the  British  officers  in  this  task 
were   a   source   of  great   irritation   to  Americans. 
Ihese  officers  would  refuse  to  recognize  an  Ameri- 
can certificate  of  nationality  unless  it  was  issued  by 
the  Admiralty  courts.     The  inexcusable  firing  by 
the  British  sliip  "Leopard"  upon  the  United  States 
frigate  "Chesapeake"  added  fuel  to  the  flames.    Now 
m  all  this  disturbance  and  quarrel  there  was,  as  any 
one  to-day  can  see,  no  real  justification  for  a  war 
but  the  United  States  had  been  yearning  for  war 
with  Great  Britain  ever  since  the  Revolution.    'ITie 
tern,  jf  of  the  people  was  distinctly  anti-British  and 
the  tactlessness  of  the  British  authorities  in  dealing 
with  the  American  ships  and  with  American  com- 
merce  provoked    the   Americans   until    they   were 
fighting  mad  and  mad  for  a  fight.    If  at  that  time 
694 


TUR 


^PF.NI.VG   OF   THE   WAR   OK    1812 


wn  1 1  1  •^'""""'  "^  '''™''l  "le  wai,  there  "-'•  P"« 

vouM  have  been  no  war,  l,.„  unfortunately  M,"'" 
son  was  Presulent,  nnd  although  he  was  a  n       , 
more  moderate  man  than  most  of  hi     n       , 
colleagues  he  w.s  consulere  .^  ,    'l  X"^""" 

anenjpt  was  n,a,le  by  chploma.ic  nego,  .- 1  :"t  fen 
off  the  encounter,   but   the  negotiations   f,     ,    " 

p.cate  and  .rntate  the  situation.  The  detarj 
steps  m  these  negotiations,  which  had  b  e„  r  r  LJ 
on  n>  reahty  during  the  entire  three  year^of  df 
on  s  first  term,  need  not  b..  g.ven  here.  Th  y  t- 
long  rather  to  the  history  of  the  relatinn^rf  ,\? 
United  States  and  Englan'd,  and  wi    '    'rtiS 

S^i:^t:;:dT;  ^'"^^r^fj^^xine'smiiu:; : 

ine  lintish  (government  as  to  the  envov  hi,,, -.if 
and  the  failure  of  Jackson  to  come  to  g  Z  m 
wnh  Mad.son  an<l  Gallatin-these  are  sto^  a^ 
tended  w,th  tnuch  interest,  but  for  the  above  eason 
wil   rot  be  irivcn  liprs     Ti,        .  ■'uo\e  reason 

had  in  tl,.  T,  r  ""'y  P"'  "'a'  Canada 
btates  and  G  eat  Br.tam  concerned  the  activity  of 
he  Ind,an  tnbes  of  the  old  Ohio  territory  U,ad 
been  alleged  m  the  Untted  States,  and  the  a  leg.t  on 
was  repeated  in  Mad.son's  war  messa^  ^ 
I-  >8.2,  that  Canadian  officials  had  mcted  the  In  ,  . 
ans   to  revnlf      Thi.-   : _  '-"cu  tne  In- i„d,.,„, , 


dians   to  revolt.      This 


s  IS,   we  are 


pretty  sure,  a  '"'^''<^*^  'o 


«less  allegation.  irf^^^C^;^,--- 
Canadian  Government  had  warned  the  United  S  a,  s 
n  a  frtendly  way  of  the  existence  of  this  hosti  e 
sp.r,t  among  the  Indians.  Now.  to  alleg!  in  e 
bas,s  of  th,s  warnmg  that  it  was  the  Canadians  vl 
Canada-M  Voi..  II 


revolt 


Great 

Britain 
in  the 


Napoleon 

piffantic 

figure 


TilP.  TKKrr.NTIC.NARy  IlISTORV  or  (.AXADA 
were  stirring  up  the  Indians,  is  equivalent  to  a  gov- 
ernment's ordering  the  arrest  on  the  charge  of 
counterfeiting-  <,f  a  man  wlio  sends  word  that  there 
IS  a  good  deal  of  counterfeit  monc\-  in  circulation 
m  his  nciKhl)orhcK)(l. 

The  real  reason  for  President  Ma.lison's  action  in 
callmg  upon  Congress  to  declare  war  against  Eng- 
land IS  not  far  to  seek.     In  the  first  place,  he  be- 
lieved th         ^  grievances  of  his  country  were  many 
and    were   righteous.    Those  grievances   we  have 
stated.     Another  reason,  however,  was  that  he,  or 
rather  the  leaders  of  his  party,  believed   that  the 
time  to  strike  England  had  come.     In  spite  of  the 
great  victories  of  Nelson  on  the  Nile  and  at  Tra- 
f;dgar  and  the  general  advance  in  British  commerce. 
Great  Bntam  had  come  into  one  of  those  periods  of 
depression  to  which,  in  spite  of  its  high  position 
in  all  fields  of  the  world's  activities,  it  is  subject. 
This  condition  was  by  no  means  inexplicable.     In- 
deed, it  was  easily  understood.     It  arose  primarily 
from  the  brilliant  success  of  Napoleon  and  from  the 
abseiK-e  of  trained  leaders  at  home.     The  Govern- 
ment was  in  the  hnnds  of  Percival,  one  of  those 
political  intriguer:,  who  too  often  in  all  countries 
happen  to  be  in  charge  of  afifairs  when  they  are  most 
delicate  and  the  nation's  peril  is  the  greatest.    Perci- 
val was  not  able  even  to  forinulate  a  definite  policy 
and  his  associates  were  not  of  a  calibre  to  help  him 
■s  The  glory  and  prestige  of  Napoleon  were,  more- 
over, at  that  moment  the  darkest  shadows  to  fall 
across  England's  path.    This  was  just  the  time  when 
Napoleon,  backed  by  the  power  of  every  country  on 
the  Continent  except  Russia,  was  marching  toward 
Moscow  to  lay  that  capital  captive.     On  his  way 
696 


Tin;   OPKMNT,  OF   THK   WAR   OF    181.. 


SCENE    OF    WAR    OK    ,8,2    ,,v    LO-.-ER    CANADA 
697 


United 
States 
proclaims 
war,  June 
19.  1813 


Henry 

Clay'5 
boast 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
from  France  he  was  met  here  and  there  by  kings 
and  emperors  and  princes  of  formerly  proud  states 
anxious  to  do  him  homage  and  assist  in  his  trium- 
phal march.  The  whole  world  knew  that  his  next 
step  would  be  the  invasion  of  England.  This  was 
the  time  when  Madison  deemed  it  best  to  declare 
war  against  Great  Britain.  We  know  also  that  he 
was  practically  forced  into  this  position  by  Clay  and 
other  Republican  leaders.  They  had  threatened 
him  with  a  loss  of  a  second  term  if  he  did  not 
yeld.  With  all  these  circumstances  acting  in  con- 
cert, It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  he  sent  in 
his  war  message  of  June  rst,  to  be  followed  by  ap- 
propriate action  of  Congress,  and  his  issuance  of  the 
proclamation  of  war  on  June  19th. 

UNCLE   SAM    OVERCONFIDENT 

There  was  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  leade -s  in 
Congress  of  the  success  of  the  United  States  arms 
especially  as  related  to  Canada.    As  early  as  Feb- 
ruary, 1810,  Henry  Clay  announced  that  "I  verilv 
believe  that  the  militia  of  Kentucky  are  alone  com- 
petent  to  place   Montreal   and  Upper  Canada  at 
your  feet.      Thomas  Jefferson,  never  an  infallible 
prophet,  in  a  letter  dated  August,  1812,  said-  "The 
acquisition  of  Canada  this  year  as  far  as  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Quebec  would  be  a  mere  matter  of 
marching  and  will  give  us  experience  for  the  attack 
on  Halifax  the  next  year  and  the  final  expulsion  of 
England  from  the  American  continent."    This  con- 
fidence arose  from  two  sources,  first  the  general 
weakness  of  the  Canadians  in  military  affairs  and 
the  belief  in  the  United  States  that  the  French  ele- 
ment was  disloyal  and  would  assist  the  American 
69S 


THE   OPENING  OF   THE  WAR   OF   1812 
cause-the  samt  foolish  belief  that  was  entertained 
m  1775  and  ,n  the  Fenian  raids  of  the  sixti  t  is 

rather  amusmg  at  this  time  to  recall  the  contrcl 
versy  between  Simcoe  and  Dorchester-Dorch^  e^ 
was  sure  that  the  main  point  of  attack  in  ^s^of 

Montreal.     Simcoe    did    not   exactly   contest   this 
proposition,  but  wished  to  have  soldiers  "nUpSr 
Canada  not  only  to  protect  the  Province  from  in- 
vasion, but  also  to  p«;=t  ;„  n, 
tion  worlT     M„  '°,^'"''  '"  the  necessary  construc- 
tion work.    Now,  however,  we  find  that  when  war 
cl.d  come,  Its  theatre  was  not  Lower  Canada   bu 
Upper  Canada,  the  English  Province.    This  do^s 
not  mean  that  Dorchester  was  wrong,  but  rath^ 
that  times  had  changed 

noIi'lnhet'-M-^PP,"  '''"''''  ^''  experienced  S.1..C 
none  of  the  racial  difficulties  of  Lower  Canada  hnt  """■- 
U  contrived  to  have  troubles  of  its  owl  l!"  e^  l°Z  '" 
Governor  Gore  came  to  the  Province  in  1806  and^™^" 

rulr";r°'"'  '"  ^■''^™"'-  ^-^^^  some  of  '"e 
judges  and  lawyers.    These  quarrels  are  too  pettv  to 

possible  It  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  to-ether  in  unitv 
even  when  the  questions  of  rehgion  and  race  are  no^ 
raised.    Gore  left  York  in  the  fall  of  181 1   and  Ae 
government  was  taken  over  by  Sir  Isa^;  Ck 
lr,2j'°''  ''"''-'  '°  ^-^<^^  -■"   -evert' 

Canada  was  wholly  unprepared  for  war.    Enffland  c.n=. 
had  her  hands  full  with  Napoleon  and  the  prospects  ""--- 
of  an  invasion,  and  left  the  colony  to  shift  for  itself    "  "" 
There  was  no  money  in  the  country,  few  for  fica: 
tions.  and  practically  no  army.    Cena'inly Ver    ve.e 
not  over  4,000  regtuar  troops.     The  total  po^u^ 
6» 


Issue  of 
boadB 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
tion  of  the  country  did  not  exceed  425,000     In- 
deed, this  is  a  liberal  estimate,  and  I  can  not  see 
upon    what    the    authorities    base    it.     Obviously 
there  were  two  things  to  do.     One  was  to  get  an 
army  and  the  other  was  to  get  money.    The  Parlia- 
ments  of   Upper  and   Lower  C  nada  acted   with 
.alacnty  and  dec,s,on.    The  circulation  was  enlarged 
until  m  February,  ,815,  by  the  issuance  of  bonds, 
over  $5,ooo/.oo  of  added  currency  was  in  circula- 
tion    But  there  was  very  little  specie,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  general  faith  of  the  people  in  the 
stability  of  the  Go^■ernn,ent  this  issue  of'^currency 
would  have  been  a  complete  failure.    So  far  as  pro- 
viding an  army  was  concerned,  the  steps  taken  were 
as  prompt  and  vigorous. 

HULL    AT    DETROIT 

Brock  was  especially  well  fitted  for  war  in  com- 
parison with  the  other  commanders.  He  seemed  to 
have  an  idea  that  war  was  coming,  while  Prevost 
«  Quebec  lived  in  a  fool's  paradise  until  the  last 
moment.  Brock  was  not  left  long  in  doubt  as  to 
the  direction  from  which  the  first  attack  upon  him 
would  be  made,    \\-hile  he  knew  full  well  that  the 

drilling  and  otherwise  preparing  for  war,  he  had 
learned  enough  of  the  movements  of  the  western 
American  forces  to  feel  no  surprise  when  he  learned 
hat  General  Hull  was  at  Detroit  in  June,  prepared 
to  invade  Canada.    This  campaign  of  Hull's,  which 

"^^^  unmistakably  opera-bouffe  in  character   is  th. 

comp.„„  most  interesting  incident  in  the  early  part  of  the 
war  General  William  Hull  was  an  old  man  who 
was  not  very  anxious  to  undertake  the  campaign. 


General 
William 
Hull  an  in 


I 


THE  OPENING   OF  THE  WAR   OF   1812 

enable  insistence  by  President  MadiLn.     He  was 
really  no  general,  and  his  experience  in  the  "evX 
t>on  o    th.rty-five  years  before  was  hardly  a  proper 
as"iU°ent"'He'"^  '""'  "'"^   ^^'^  an'in.p'on^« 

o  cer  th.n  ;h.f  ''"'  f""'^  y'""'  °^  ^&«-  ""^  was 
Older  than  that  ,n  resolution  and  ability.     Althoueh 

0  when  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept  a  commis- 
sion and  he  set  out  for  Detroit  with  orders  to  pi  k 
up  his  army  on  the  way.  ^ 

In  May  he  arrived  at  Dayton    Ohio    ;,nH   t     i, 

m  T.l       /^^'i^'"-     """    ^"^''^'l   Detroit   early 
in  July,  and  on  the  i^th  began  the  invasion  of  Ca , 
ada   .ssumg  at  the  same  time  a  proclamation  to  t^ 
People   which  ,s  „,  the  turgid  and  beautiful  style  o 
such  proclamations.     He  tolfl  Hip  r,.^„u    x  f 
Canada,  who  were  almost  .ni   ^    ^     "^  L  p,,er  h„  .„,,i, 
TTnif^,!  c  T        ^""°st  all  descendant.";  of  the  p"^'""- 

S  ed  TZ:  "-"'"''"''■ !'"'  ^'^^y  should  be  '•em       "" 
tn^t  r  ^™i">'"""^'  ^"^'  oppression,  and  restored 

beinra  thr^V    f      ''"'  "  <'^"^Pi^"0»s  feature  of  it 

be  found  %hfng  for  the  British.     Brock  instantly 
701 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

TppS,      '^^'l^  ^'"'  ^  proclamation,  which  was  as  calm  and 
,„,h,        sensible  as  Hull's  had  been  feverish  and  foolish 
A=,™biy   The  Upper  Canadian  Parliament  assembled  at  York 
on  July  27th,  and  Brock  appealed  to  it  for  support 
and  munitions  of  war.    Strange  to  say,  even  at  that 
time  when  invasion  threatened,  there  was  a  discor- 
dant element  in  the  House  of  Assembly.     Some  of 
the  members  were  imbued  with  the  old  factionalism 
and  through  their  influence  the  Assembly  refused  to 
vote  the  suspension  of  the  writ   ...  habeas  corpus 
Ihere  was  no  hesitancy,  however,  in  passing  the 
necessary  revenue  bills,  and  in  a  ohort  time  the  ses- 
sion was  adjourned.     Meantime  Hull  had  entered 
R  „   ■.      I    ,  ^^'■°^''"«'  ="«'  was  attempting  its  conquest.    He 
Bo..  .,d..   had  scarcely  begun,  however,  when  he  received  news 
of  the  capture  by  the  British  of  the  American  post 
of  Michilimackinac.    Tbi^  oost  was  completely  sur- 
prised by  a  force,  incluc'        the  British  garrison  on 
the  island  of  St.  Joseph,      the  norm  of  Lake  Huron 
under  Captain  Roberts.    The  capture  was  important' 
not  only  because  of  the  value  of  the  stores  taken 
but  also  because  of  its  influence  upon  the  Indians' 
many  of  whom  forthwith  allied  themselves  with  the 
British. 

To  oppose  tlie  onward  march  of  Hull,  Brock  had 
stationed  Colonel  Proctor  at  Amherstburg,  which 
was  about  ten  miles  south  of  Detroit  on  the  Cana- 
dian side.  Here,  with  600  men,  he  awaited  the 
approacli  of  Hull,  who  was  at  Sandwich,  just  oppo- 
site Detroit.  In  order  to  reach  Amherstburg  it  was 
necessary  for  Hull  to  cross  a  little  river  called  the 
river  Aux  Canards.  His  attempt  to  cross  was  re- 
sisted by  the  Canadians.  Several  engagements  oc- 
curred, the  Indians  rendering  great  service.    While 


HoH's 

advance 

rpposed 

and 

defeated 


THE  OPEMNG   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812 
Hull  was  preparing  for  a  more  aggressive  att;,rf 
on  Amherstburg,  a  force  guarding  a  ~  of  St 
v.s,ons  from  the  Ohio  was  attacked  by  aLrtv^ 
Indians   under  Tecumseh,   the  Shawnee  chkf    ^  . 
Brownstown    about  opposite  Amhe  "burg'^„^h,  I- -" 
American  s.de.    Not  only  this  convoy  force  but  also  """"• 
a  party  wh.ch  Hull  had  sent  forward  to  mLi  i    w  r^ 
ambuscaded  by  Tecumseh  and  slaughtered  '  The 
Shu  tt  off  R'n"""''  ''''  P°^'  at'^Brownstown 

S51;^^=~c-d''S^t 

^Sfj^s^ope^'-^r^ 

Siner^n  ei;  '°"^  °'  "^  '"^"  ""^^  ^r,  1 
A  i  V,  engagement  occurred  between  this  forr- 
and  the  British  under  ..lajor  Muir/^wh  hT 
Bnt,sh  were  defeated,  but  fought  so' resolutely  that 
the  American  advance  was  prevented.  Soon  after 
h.s,  Proctor's  little  army  at  Amherstburg  was  re 
enforced  by  about  300  men,  who  had  trfveTed  the 

N iagLr  rlr  ''"^  '''  '°-'''  "^  L^-^^  Erie  fr  m 

a^r  time^mTt  TrumTrnfc'  t  'Tf'-  ^^"^'^ 
onentinn      R,    1    .'"'^"'"^e"'  and  confirmed  his  co- """'"'i 

once     H.  J         ^'^'"  '^^'^'^'^'^  movements  at 
appaiently  made  no  impression  on  the  fort      Thl 


Sepi,i6,i 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
Mull  frighi.  unopposed.  While  they  were  on  their  way  to  make 
•urrtndcr.  ^n  attack  On  the  city,  they  saw  a  boat  with  a  white 
• .  flag  on  it  crossing  the  river  to  Sandwich.  It  seems 
that  a  shot  from  the  battery  that  morning  had  en- 
tered the  fort  and  killed  four  officers.  This  shot 
seems  to  have  thrown  Hull  into  a  condition  of  des- 
perate funk  (as  in  the  case  of  VergoratFort  Beause- 
jour  in  1755)  and  he  forthwith  started  out  his  men 
to  propose  terms  of  capitulation.  This  proposition 
was  made  by  Hull  without  consultation  with  his 
other  officers,  and  against  their  violent  protest  when 
they  learned  what  he  had  done.  Brock  was  very 
glad  to  receive  the  surrender,  and  made  excellent 
terms.  It  was  the  easiest  conquest  known  in  all 
warfare,  and  a  lasting  disgrace  to  American  arms. 
This  surrender  included  not  only  the  city  of  Det.oit, 
but  the  entire  territory  of  Michigan,  2,500  troops^ 
33  pieces  of  cannon,  and  a  large  quantity  of  stores 
and  ammunition. 

There  was  absolutely  no  excuse  for  Hull's  action. 
It  was  pure  cowardice.  After  his  exchange  he  was 
placed  on  trial  on  January  5,  1814,  and  was  found 
guilty  and  sentenced  to  death.  President  Madison, 
who  had  prevailed  upon  him  to  accept  his  commis- 
sion, was  not  unfaithful,  and  remitted  his  sentence, 
but  ordered  his  name  erased  from  the  army  list.  He 
afterward  went  to  Massachusetts  to  live,  and  now 
his  place  of  residence  boasts  of  it,  neglecting,  how- 
ever, to  recall  the  story  of  his  disgrace. 

The  effect  of  this  surrender  on  the  course  of  the 
wai  was  immediate.  Nothing  succeeds  like  success, 
and  the  Indians  of  all  that  region  at  once  joined  the 
British.  It  gave  courage  to  the  Canadians,  and 
caused  the  Americans  utmost  consternation.  They 
704 


Hull 

•CQtenced 

to  death, 

but 

Madison 

intervenes 


THE   OPENING   OF   THE   WAR   OF   1912 
could  hardly  believe  that  the  report  of  the  surrender  c.„.a.. 
was  true,  and  they  emptied  their  vials  of  wrath  on  ""« 
poor  Hull,  who,  to  be  sure,  deserved  most  of  their  I^T^^,, 
abuse      Detroit  was  immediately  occupied  by  the 
British  and  defended.     Hull  and  his  troops  were 
conveyed  to  Quebec,  where  they  were  received  with 
great  kmdness  and  shown  many  attentions 

After  the  capture  of  Detroit.  Brock  returned  ton. 
rork.     He  then  learned  of  the  armistice  that  had  """•"« 
been  proposed   by  the   British   Government.     The 
basis   of   this   proposal    of  an   armistice    wns   the 
decision  of  the  new   British   Cabinet  tmder  Lord 
Liverpool  to  suspend  the  orders-in-council.     These 
orders-in-council   were   among  the   most   offensive 
of  the  Pereival  Governinenfs  measures,  and  were 
largely  responsible  for  the  war.     There  is  nothing 
in  the  despatches,  so  far  as  I  can  find,  to  show  that 
Lord  Liverpool  actually  instructed  Prevost  to  ask 
the  American  Government  for  an  armistice,  but  it 
IS  hardly  conceivable  that  he  would  have  made  such 
a  proposition  on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  revo- 
cation without  some  sort  of  suggestion,  at  least,  that 
the  armistice  be  asked  for.     That  any  government  The  f„,„ 
against  which  war  had  been  declared  should  back"'" 
down  to  the  extent  of  repealing  a  measure  which 
had  been  one  of  the  causes  „f  the  war,  and  then 
should  ask  for  the  other  nation  to  let  up,  seems  odd 
and  very  unlike  an  Englishman's  government     At 
any  rate,  Pre.ost  did  ask  for  the  armistice,  and  it 
was  granted  by  the  American  officers  in  the  field 
and  in  the  mean  time  the  despatches  were  foru'arded 
to   Washington   in  order  that   President   Madison 
might  take  some  action  upon  them.     Of  course   he 
regarded  this  series  of  acts  on  the  part  of  the  Brit- 
705 


American 
plan  of 
cAmpai^Q 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
ish  as  signs  of  great  weakness,  and  refused  to  stop 
the  war.     The  armistice,  brief  as  it  was,  gave  the 
American  commander  more  time  to  get  together  his 

The  American  plan  of  campaign  was  a  very  sim- 
ple one.  It  comprised  an  attack  upon  Canada  at 
three  points-Detroit,  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  by 
way  of  the  old  Lake  Champlain-St.  Lawrence  route 
Major-General  Dearborn,  commanding  general  of 
he  entire  United  States  army,  was  in  the  field,  and 
took  the  active  command  of  the  Lake  Champlain 
expedition.    General  van  Rensselaer  was  the  leader 

and     rf.'^'l^  ,',°"    '^''"''    '^'    ^■'^^'■^^    f^°"tie'-. 

Wmiam  H.  ^^^'  '""'"'^''  °^  ^^'™'''  Genera 
Wilham  Henry  Harrison  took  charge  of  the  Amer- 
ican forces  in  that  region.  This  period  of  armis- 
tice was  a  very  irksome  one  to  Brock,  for  he  was 
an  aggressive  leader,  and  had  no  patience  with  the 
tmiid  policy  of  Prevost.  Unfortunately  the  latter 
was  1,1  supreme  command.  He  even  directed  Brock 
to  order  the  evacuation  of  Detroit,  but  fortunately 
:::Z..  l?'  "^e  Canadians  he  gave  Brock  some  liberty  in 
the  matter,  and  the  order  was  not  carried  out 
Brave  Prevost  evidently  thought  that  there  would 
be  no  war,  and  he  studiously  refrained  from  taking 
any  offensive  movement.  It  was  a  sad  blunder  for 
It  only  encouraged  the  Americans  and  disheartened 
the  Canadians. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   QUEENSTON    AND   THE   DEATH 
OF    BROCK 

THE^issue,  however,  could  no  longer  be  denied.    If 

the  Canadians  would  not  invade  the  United  States 

the  Americans  were  not  afraid  to  invade  Canada,' 

706 


THE  OPENING  OF   THE   WAR  OF   1812 
and  the  first  encounter  occurred  on  the  Niai^arn  n  ,.   .. 
fronfer.    That  httle  border  was  pretty  w^l  cr3e"  -^" 
with  troops  glaring  at  each  other  ac'ross  the  rTve' 
Brock,  who  was  u,  active  command  of  all  the  Brit: 
sh  operations  on  that  frontier,  was  very  anxious 
to  know  where  the  American  attack  would'^bemlde 
But  upon  that  pomt  there  was  great  lack  of  una,    nitv 
on  the  part  of  the  Americans  themselver    Dear 
born  was  having  troubles  of  his  own  in  the  like 
Champlam  can,pa.gn.     So  he  let  the  comn,ande; 
on  the  Niagara  settle  the  question  themselves   and 

tions.     By  the  ist  of  September  there  were  about  f 
8000  American  troops  gathered  along  te  t^^"!^.. 
Some  were  at  Niagara,  at  the  mouth  5f  the     ve  '  "°°"" 
others  at  Lewiston,  and  others  at  Buffalo      Van 
Rensselaer,  who  was  nominally  i„  command    pro 
posed    to   attack    Queenston.      Smyth    -tR'JT 
thought  the  attack  ought  to  be  nSe  neafer  £ 
base,   and   accordmgly   refused   to  cooperate   witL 

tloritf  ."nT  '■,  ^r  "'^  ^''""^  d^«'"«  oiZ 
mart  al. ,  '"^"'^°'''J'"«'i°".  Smyth  was  not  court- 
martia  ed  or  censured  i..  any  way.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  was  given  command  of\he  army  °t„ 
Van  Rensselaer  retired  a  few  months  lat7     The 

;    nned  "hT"  """,  ''"  ''  ^^"  «™-'--  ^ad 
tne  torce  he  had  at  Lewiston  and  what  he  couM 
get  from  Niagara.    He  had  about  4,^  men  how 
ever,  of  which  about  ,,500  were  reg^^rfthe  re^ 
being  New  York  militia      Th,.  h^tfil 

lar  one,  and  because  of  r.rV  '"'"  ^  ^'"g"-^-*"'" 

,  aiiu  uecause  ot  certain  circumstances  wi^M  '"■'"' 
worth  a  detailed  description  "^stances  well 

It  was  on  the  night  of  October  13,  during  a  lieht 
707 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
w,c.„.  rainstorm  that  the  America.,  advance  began.  There 
ri,«-,Oct  ,j  was  considerable  confusion  in  Retting  off  the  boats 
and  the  current  took  a  good  many  of  them  down- 
stream so  that  only  a  few  of  the  a.lvance  party 
reached  the  shore,  where  the  attack  was  to  be  rnade 
This  force  however,  small  a.  it  was,  pressed  ph.ck- 
•ly  forward,  but  was  soon  met  with  formi.lable  o,>- 
posifon,  and  lost  several  men.  Meantime  the  boats 
kept  commg  across,  and  gradually  the  Americans 
on  shore  were  numerous  enough  to  make  an  ad- 
on'rj^     ''  P^=>cticable.     Queenston   itself  was 

t,  ,  ?'^.  ;  '"■'  "'^  """y  *°  '■"•^'^  '■'  "as  by  a  road 
which  had  been  carefully  guarded,  but  there  was  a 
narrow  path  up  the  cliff  which  spies  had  revealed 
to  the  Americans.  Up  this  path  they  poured  under 
Captam  Wool,  later  to  be  distinguished  in  the  Mex- 
lean  Vvar. 

Brock,  in  the  mean  time,  had  been  informed 
of  the  attack,  and  hastened  to  the  spot.  A  fnm 
which  he  had  in  action,  was  attacked  so  vigor-' 
ously  by  the  Americans  that  Brock  and  his  s'aff 
were  compelled  to  retreat  on  foot,  the  gun  was 
.taken  by  Wool  an.l  turned  against  the  British. 
Another  British  force  came  up  then,  and  these 
troops  were  ordere<l  to  retake  the  gun.  Wool  l-.ad 
at  that  time  only  about  150  men,  while  the  Brit- 
ish  opposing   force   was  about  the   same  size     It 

71V  \  r'  ''■'"'■  '■'*^^'""'  "'^  sun  that  Brock. 
L.etnenant-Governor  and  mililaiy  commander  of 
he  Province,  was  killed.  A  few  minutes  later  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel McDonnell.  Attomev-General  of  the 
Province  came  up  with  reenforcements.  and  he  too 
was  killed  and  the  Americans  retook  the  gun  Thus 
>n  a  hah-hour  the  two  foremost  civil  officers  of 
708 


Fiffhtia; 
over  a 
gun 


Brock 

killed 


;  i 


ilia  loii 
Urage 


THE  OPENING   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812 

ever  the  British  fought  with  such  energy  and  cour- 
age that  the  Americans  were  driven  IrL  the  gun 
and  compelled  to  retreat.  The  contest  at  this  point 
was  a  drawn  battle,  but  afterward  the  advam.ge 
was  an  on  the  British  side.  Van  Rensselaer  had 
cotne  over  and,  seeing  the  position,  had  returned 
to  the  American  side,  to  bring  over  the  rest  of  the 
force  at  the  same  time  ordering  Smyth  of  Bulfalo 
to  bring  up  h,s  force  with  all  possible  speed.    Some 

at    this   pomt   completely    flunked.      They    refusf<i -' 

I>-untbIa„k  to  cross  the  river,  ^An^  as  their  It 
cuse  that  they  had  sworn  to  defend  the  State  not 
to  etigage  in  an  invasion.     This  whining  attitude 

should  not  be  forgotten  by  this  generation,  which 
accustomed  to  believe  that  only  in  our  day    is 
here  shirking  of  responsibility  and  cowardice.  '  No 
such  action  would  be  possible  to-day  in  any  Amer- 
ican or  Canadian  militia  company 

tl/bi'bv''''nT  ^™™[««'<=""itswere  "playing c...u„. 
tlie  baby    on  one  side  of  the  river,  Uie  Canadians '"""""" 

t'eir  Ud      s^ff""'^^^'^'^'"^  '°  «'-  defense'f'^r 
their  land.     SheafTe,  who  had  succeeded  Brock  in  """ 
command,  hurried  forward   from   Fort  George  to 
Queenston  with  8^  men.     The  result  was  nof  di  - 
ficul    to  divine      The  American  force  was  a  very 

and  could  no  hope  to  cope  with  the  superior  Cana^ 
^an  force  unless  it  was  reenforced,  but,  as  we  have 
seen,  ad  reenforcemetit  was  impossible.   The  Ameri- 

could'iT  T'^'I  f  °"'  ^°'  ^^°°'  ^'^-l  been  wounded, 
could  not  stand  the  turious  fire  and  bayonet  chared 

709 


A  pictu. 
ciintcst 


surprised 


shurked 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
of  th  ■  Canadians.  They  broke  and  fled.  Many 
fell  off  the  lleights  and  were  killed.  Some  were 
drowned.  The  remainder  surrendered,  altogether 
about  960.  Among  them  vva.-,  a  major-general  of 
the  mditia,  Wadsworth,  with  alxnit  50  other  officers. 
The  regulars  were  sent  as  prisoners  to  Montreal,  the 
militia  were  allowed  to  reliirn  home  on  parole.  The 
American  loss  was  about  300  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  British  about  200. 

It  was  a  very  pretty  fight  which  took  place  on 
Queenston  Heights,  and  a  rather  remarkable  one. 
The  fortunes  of  war  shifted  rapidly  from  side  to 
side,   and  had  not  the   New  York  militia  proved 
cowardly  the  contest  would  have  been  one  of  the 
most  vigorous  of  the  entire  war.     As  it  was,  the 
battle  was  full  of  dramatic  features— the  darkness 
m  which  it  was  fought,  the  death  of  the  British 
commanding   general    and    his    aide-de-camp,    the 
sharp  exchange  of  shots  between  two  forces  only  a 
few  yards  apart,  and  the  precipitous  charge  by  the 
British,  which  drove  the  Americans  on  the  heights 
to  death  or  into  the  river  below— these  made  a  very 
interesting  picture  for  the  first  real  battle  of  the  war. 
Van  Rensselaer  had  not  been  very  enthusiastic 
in  taking  up  this  command,  and  he  resigned  it  im- 
mediately after  the  battle.    General  Smyth,  the  hero 
of  Buiifalo,  who  refused  to  come  to  the  aid  of  his 
brethren  when  they  were  being  shot  down,  was,  as 
I   have  said   before,   placed   in  command.     Again 
were  the  hopes  of  the  politicians  at  Washington 
and  of  the  people  in  general  dashed  to  the  ground 
by  the  news  of  this  battle.     There  had  been  very 
little  enthusiasm  for  the  war  in  the  United  States, 
but  after  ihe  comest  was  on  most  of  tlie  Ainer- 
710 


] 


li 


T.i;       )PE.VING   OF  THE   WAR   OF    .812 

very  l.ttle  credit  was  given  to  the  enemy  for  their 
V.C  cry  but  the  defeat  wa.,  laid  to  ,he  inc'o mr^^u'cv 

ever    made    he  contest   in  all  essentials  a   British 
defeat    for  Brock  was  worth  any  numl>er  „f  „ 

was  he  who  had  organized  the  mihtarv  force  of 
Upper  Canada,  and  had  anin.ated  it  with'snirit  an 
enthusiasm.     Had  it  no,  U-.n   for  his  ah  ht     an 

hi!'     t  "^   "'  ""''  *''  ^"^  '^''aft  was  bepnn  on  the  '°"'"' 
h  .ghtsof  Queenston  on  .he  twelfth  annu-ersa  y 
h  s  death,  Octokr  .3,  ,8.4.     This  n,onun,e„t  was 
blown  up  sixteen  years  later  by  the  Lenians    b, 
was  rehudt  at  once,  and  is  now  one  of  the  mo 
^tnkmg  and  emblematic  memorials  in  all  TanadT 

Stales  ."''s^:'  ""  t'"'  '""'P'  "'"'''  ^y  "-^  L-niied  w.„„, 
btaes  t-    secure  the  control  of  Lake  Ontario  was°"^'' 

Ztn-  ^.rr^""""  ^^^="=  Chauncey  arrived  a  °"'"'° 
Sackett  s  Harbor  and  began  to  create  a  (leet  by  pur 
chase  and  construction.  He  was  able  to  appear  on 
the  lake  by  November  6  with  the  brig  "One  d^"  and 
S.X  schooners.  An  attempt  was  mile  by  him  to 
capture  some  British  ships,  but  the  winter  ^"sed 
without  any  engagements  of  serious  consequence 
Chatmcey,  however,  had  shown  capacity  and  ener^ 
which  seemed  likely  to  produce  victories  later     ^ 

OTHER   FAILURES  TO   INVADE   CANADA 

a    SRAL  Smyth,  who  had  succeeded  Van  Rensse- 
laer m  command  of  the  American  troops  on  the 
711 


Fort  Eiie 

rftsisu 

Americans 


Dearborn" 
four- day 
fiasco  in 
Lower 
Canada 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

Niagara  frontier,  made,  on  November  28th,  another 
attempt  to  invade  Canada.  This  movement  began 
just  above  Buffalo,  and  was  directed  against  Fort 
Erie.  It  was  another  contest  in  which  most  of  the 
fighting  was  done  at  night.  The  Americans  made 
a  landing  successfully  and  drove  away  a  small  force 
which  had  planted  a  battery  in  their  path,  but  when 
it  came  to  the  serious  work  of  capturing  Fort  Erie 
they  failed.  It  was  a  very  much  involved  contest 
and  reflected  very  little  credit  upon  either  side.  The 
Americans  were  compelled  to  withdraw,  and  winter 
soon  closed  in  without  an  American  post  in  Canada. 
Thi.s  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  Americans, 
not  only  to  the  soldiers,  but  throughoui  le  whole 
country.  One  important  element  on  which  they  re- 
lied for  success  had  proved  undependable.  The) 
nad  counted  upon  the  assistance  of  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  believing  them  to  be  dissat- 
isfied with  the  Canadian  Government.  It  seems  ab- 
surd that  this  expectation  had  been  formed,  for 
almost  the  whole  Province  was  English,  the  de- 
scendants of  the  U.  E.  L.,  and  Loyalist  to  the 
backbone. 

A  different  fate  might  have  been  expected  very 
properly  from  an  expedition  into  Lower  Canada. 
Of  this  Dearborn  was  in  command,  and  he  was 
very  certain  of  success.  Dearborn  had  got  together 
nearly  10,000  men  on  Lake  Champlain  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Montreal.  Meantime  Lower  Canada  was 
making  as  good  preparations  as  could  be  devised 
with  the  limited  means  and  men  at  hand.  Some  re- 
enforcements  had  reached  Quebec  from  England 
and  the  West  Indies,  and  the  militia  had  been  all 
called  out  with  good  result.  For  various  reasons 
712 


THE   OPE.MXG   OF   THE   WAR   OF 


1812 


Dearborn  did  not  proceed  with  the  rapidity  which 
was  necessary.    It  was  not  until  the  20th  of  Novem- 
ber tliat   any  engagements   whatever   occurred   in 
Lower  Canada.     At  Odelltown  the  United  States 
troops  had  forded  the  river  in  two  places  and  made 
the  mistake  of  firing  against  each  other.     Tliis  at- 
tack which  was  not  supported,  but  was  supposed  to 
be  the  precursor  to  a  general  movement,  excited  the 
whole  Province  and  led  to  an  assembling  of  lar^e 
defensive  forces  all  along  the  frontier.    But  the  sea- 
son  was  then  getting  so  late  that  Dearborn's  cam- 
paign was  already  a  failure.    Furthermore,  the  same 
glorious  spirit  which  had  animated  tne  New  York 
mihtia  >n  the  attack  on  Queenston  thrilled  them 
here.     They  declared  that  they  were  enlisted  for 
home  de  ense,  and  not  for  foreign  service.    And  so,  mo. 
Detween  the  coming  of  winter  and  the  cowardice  of  """fr""" 
his  miitia,  Major-General  Dearborn,  commander- "'""•"" 
m-chief  of  all  the  forces  of  the  United  States  army 

,,i  -A  ^^;  •""  '^""P^'^"  °"  Lake  Champlain 
lasted.  It  IS  said,  just  four  days.  A  more  ludicrous 
fiasco  has  hardly  been  seen  in  military  annals  since 
he  famous  march  of  the  king  up  the  hill  and  down 
again.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  campaign  of 
1812  from  the  United  States  standpoint  was  not 
crowned  by  a  single  victory  on  land.     It  was  t^e 

cTi  JZ'  '"  '".  I'""'"^"  '''^'  '''^'°'-y  i"  which  that 
could  be  recorded. 

It  was  thus  witli  a  Te  Deum  .spirit  that  the  Legis-r... 
ature  of  Lower  Canada  met  on  the  29th  of  Decern-  <^'""''" 

suLsfof  h'  ^''^--^I^'^"^''  "!<^  Legislature  u,>on  the  """ 
success  of  the  Canadian  armies  and  asked  for  fur- 
ther revenue   to  carry  on   the   war.    £15.000  was 
7'J 


More  Y 
funds 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
voted  for  the  equipment  of  the  militia  and  £25,000 
toward  general  expenses.    A  duty  of  two  and  one- 
half  per   cent   was  imposed   on   all    importations 
except  provisions. 

The  Legislature  of  Upper  Canada  met  on  the  2=;th 
of  February,  1813,  and  was  in  session  about  two 
weeks.  Sheafife  was  Lieutenant-Governor,  having 
succeeded  Brock  in  civil  as  well  as  military  affairf 
A  hearty  response  was  made  to  his  appeal  for  more 
funds  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  provision  was  made 
Brock  '^'"'^  recognition  of   the   services   of 


714 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE   CAMPAIGN    OF    1813 

™ake  an  invasion  o?lSerCatla"nf.  ''^'"  '^--^ 
the  former  defeats      cH^  '^  '°  retrieve  ca„adiJ» 

.hi.  Bm.  o,  „„:;;;:„  s  trc  *„"i '-"  " 

burned  to  the  e-round      p^  y"*  ■'•  ^"^  the  fort  was 
nell  ashorttofS;,,       ■°",  ""'^  ^'"'-  ^cDon- 

^cUr.eda,a^esh^o^H^S?fr'r:::' 
pose  as  an  officer  '  "'°"''''  '"'"  ""^t  'o"""' 

Februarv,  i8n   wit ,  c !w,      P'l<c  arru-ed  tliere  in 

n^kin?  O  Jensbu  f  m'.T  "''".     ""^  ''^^'  'tended 
S  ug-densburg  h.s  base,  but  he  readied  that 

715 


The 

campaign 
against 
York 


AmericaiiB 
attack  it, 
April  36th 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

point  a  few  days  after  McDonnell  had  destroyed 
the  fort.  Chauncey  was  busy  at  Sackett's  Har- 
bor preparing  his  ssels,  and  by  springtime  the 
united  force  of  Chauncey  and  Pike  .vas  prepared 
for  any  formidable  task.  Their  first  objective 
was  Toronto,  then  called  York,  the  Provincial 
capital  then  as  now.  York  lay  across  the  lake 
from  Sackett's  Harbor,  and  it  is  inconceivabie 
that  the  purpose  of  the  Americans  to  attack  it 
should  not  have  been  suspected  from  the  first, 
but  absolutely  no  preparation  had  been  made  to 
guard  against  such  an  attack,  and  the  town  was 
scarcely  fortified.  The  story  of  the  expedition 
against  York  is  worth  some  detailed  description,  for 
its  acts  were  used  as  justification  for  the  British  ex- 
pedition the  next  year  which  entered  Washington 
and  burned  the  United  St£*es  Capitol.  York  was  a 
minute  sort  of  village  at  that  time,  containing  less 
than  1,000  people.  A  blockhouse  and  fort  bad  been 
constructed  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  but  no 
other  means  of  defense  had  been  provided.  A  few 
companies  of  militia  and  regulars  were  the  garri- 
son of  the  place.  On  the  morning  of  April  26th  the 
approach  of  the  American  force  was  announced. 
Sixteen  vessels  came  into  view  and  prepared  to  land 
a  force  to  take  the  town.  Sir  Roger  Sheaffe,  who 
was  in  command  at  York,  gathered  together  the  few 
troops  he  could  find,  and  attempted  to  oppose  the 
American  advance.  About  40c  .nen  were  thrown 
against  the  same  number  who  had  landed  from  the 
American  ships,  and  a  plucky  fight  occurred.  The 
Americans  were  reenforced,  however,  and  their  op- 
ponents gave  way  in  this  unequal  contest.  While 
this  fight  was  going  on  in  the  woods,  a  terrific  ex- 
;i6 


THE   CAMPAIGN'   OF   1813 

plosion  occurred.  It  was  that  of  a  magazine  of  Briti* 
tlie  western  battery  of  the  town.  An  artiller>-man '""" 
had  lighted  a  match  and  was  \,'aiting  for  the  order 
to  fire ;  it  having  been  delayed  for  some  reason,  he 
threw  the  match  away,  but  unfortunately  it  fell  into 
the  magazine  with  terrible  results.  Three  artillery- 
men and  several  of  the  soldiers  were  killed,  and  the 
cam, on  were,  of  course,  dismounted  and  rendered 
useless.  There  was  no  wisdom  in  an  attempt 
to  hold  the  town  against  overwhelming  odds, 
and  Sheaffe  determined  to  retreat  to  Kingston,  com- 
missioning two  officers  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Strachan, 
rector  of  the  English  cliurch,  to  arrange  for  the 
capitulation. 

GENERAL  PIKE  KILLED 

The  fighting  had  been  carried  on  from  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  having  made  such  a  strong  resistance,  Sheaffe 
was  entirely  justified  in  the  retreat.  As  if  one  ex- 
plosion were  not  enough  'or  that  day,  another  oc- 
curred at  this  time.  Ge  al  Zebulon  Pike  was  in 
active  command  of  the  Ar.  .rican  troops,  which  con- 
sisted of  about  1,700  men.  ,  fe  took  possession  of 
the  fort  and  sent  forward  a  pi.  ket  to  learn  if  any 
further  opposition  was  to  be  met.  While  waiting 
for  the  return  of  the  picket,  he  sat  down  upon  a 
stump  and  looked  about  him.  Inside  the  fort  were  E«pi 
the  usual  barracks  and  storehouses,  and  nearby  was """' 
a  stone  building  in  which  the  powder  was  stored.  """""" 
While  he  was  conversing  with  a  wounded  prisoner, 
this  magazine  exploded,  causing  terrible  havoc.  Pike 
was  almost  instantly  killed,  and  260  of  his  men  were 
either  killed  or  wounded.  Thus  perished  a  man 
717 


losion 
kills  ^60 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF   CANADA 

I'ZZ  r'^°l'  '^°'^  °f  'I'^^overy  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
io,.dm  nas  been  recognized  in  his  name  applied  to  one  of 
their  loftiest  peaks.  The  cause  of  this  explosion 
remains  to-day  as  deep  a  secret  as  that  of  the  blow- 
ing up  of  the  United  States  ship  "Maine"  in  the 
harbor  of  Havana  m  1898.  There  was  a  story 
that  It  was  caused  by  a  drunken  soldier,  but  there 
IS  no  evidence  to  prove  this.  At  any  rate,  the 
affair  provoked  great  rage  throughout  the  Ameri- 
can forces,  as  It  was  regarded  generally  by  them  as 
having  been  a  deliberate  act  of  the  enemy  Pos<-.i- 
bly  It  was  merely  accidental,  but  the  e.xplosion  it- 
self was  undoubtedly  used  as  a  justification  for 
harsh  acts  which  were  later  committed  by  some  of 
the  American  troops. 


Public 

buildings 

burocd 


SPOLIATION    BY    AMERICANS 


There  was  some  delay  in  arranging  the  articles  of 
capitulation  of  York,  and   in  the  mean  time  the 
Americans  were  accused  of  insulting  the  inhabitants 
and   ccmunitting   other   acts   of   wanton   brutality 
Worse  than  this,  all  the  public  stores  were  carried 
away  and  the  public  buildings  burned,  and  with  them 
the  public  reconls.   Even  the  money  in  the  Provincial 
Treasury,  only  about  i2,ooo,  fell  into  the  Americans' 
hands.     Dr.  Strachan  was  furious  at  the  condition 
of  affairs,  and  demanded  of  General  Dearborn  that 
the  articles  of  capitulation  be  signed  immediately 
but  Dearborn  treated  him  with  contempt,  and  it  was 
not  until  ttie  afternoon  of  the  second   jav  that  it 
was  done.    Dr.  .Strachan,  who  afterward  i.ecame  the 
hrst  bishop  of  Toronto,  made  a  vehement  and  sar- 

A„„,c.»,  '^'"^  f  t''i  '°  '^''°'""'  ^'"'''°"  ='K^'"^^  'he  ac- 
tions of  the  American  troops.    He  asserted  that  the 
718 


Dr. 

Strachan 

bitterly 

uaails 


THE   CAMPAIGN  OF   1813 
church   was  robbed  of  its  nlaf^    tv,-  n, 
burned   along  with  the  ZS^lJ^    ^eTwTe 

confuted.     Commodore  Chauncey  was  indienant 

ihis   so  far  as  we  can  learn,  is  a  prettv  fair  ar  r 
count  of  ,hat  occurred  there.    The  act^     ff  gZ."!]  --i- 

e^cus^d™  \l  r™'"'"f  ''"■^  '°  ^°  -  -"  not  l^-^"" 
excused.     In  a  c,ty.  where  it  would  be  impossible 
for  the  commander  to  keep  in  touch  witHlT  h  s 
men,  p.llage  might  have  been  carried  on      thou   t 

i  hen7"h'r'  '■""^  ^  "P'*^''  -"^  did  not  com! 
prehend  what  an  msult  the  destruction  of  theTe 
buldings  and  records  was  to  a  proud  people  But 
w.th  the  best  light  we  can  possibly  pla  e  upon  i" 
the  affair  was  disgraceful  to  the  Umted  Stat^  and 
could  not  possibly  occur  to-day.  ^ 

The  Americans  continued  in  possession  n<  th. 
town  only  two  days  longer,  proceeTfto  Niata^^^:. 
and  makmg  no  attempt  to  pursue  Sheaffe     bS  ""' 
the  .60  men  killed  and  wounded  by  thfexpb  o„         "" 
the  Umted  States  expedition  lost  14  ki  led  and  T^' 
wounded,   while  the  British  loss  was   verv  J^,  ^K 

IZZ,  \''  r'°"  ""'  ''-'"^^  ^^  .hi^timlLTrt 
garded  by  h,s  troops  and  by  the  people  of  Toronto 
as  cowardly,  so  much  so  that  in  June  he  was  rl 
moved  from  command,  and  De  Rottenberg  ^as  aj 
''  Canada-, 5  VoL.  II 


Shtaflt  no 
coward 


Americans 
take  Fort 
Gtorgt, 
May  J7 


THE  TERCENTEXARY  HISTORY  OF  CA.VAD.V 
pointed  in  his  place.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  harsh' 
verdict.  Undoubtedly  Sheaffe  had  not  taken  proper 
precautions  to  snard  against  attack,  Init  his  con- 
duct on  the  day  of  the  battle,  simply  because  he  di,( 
not  expose  himself  to  the  tire  of  tlic  larger  force,  was 
no  reason  for  regarding-  him  as  a  coward. 

THE    NIAGARA    FRONTIER 

The  gathering  of  Chaimce) '  a  and  Dearborn's  forces 
at    Niagara    was   planned    lor   the   plain    pu^wse 
of  crossing  the  Niagara  River  and  taking  (Kist  in 
Canada,   the   objective   point    being   Fort    George 
There  were  at  Niagara  about  7,000  troops,  besides 
the  marines  and  crews  of  Chaiincey's  ships      Op- 
posed to  them  was  a  British  force  of  about  2,300 
men  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Vincent 
One  thousand  of  these  men  were  stationed  at  i'ort 
George.     The  Americans  wasted  very  little  time  in 
getting  to  work.    At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
the  2711,  of  May  they  started  their  troops  across  the 
river,  and  after  fighting,  which  lasted  until  about 
noon,  the  British  abandoned  Fort  George  and  re- 
treated to  Beaver  Dam,  about  twentv  miles  south 
where  a  depot  of  provisioas  and  ammunition  had 
been  established.     It  was  impossible,  of  course   for 
Vincent  with  his  small  body  of  men  to  cop.  with 
the  overwhelming  mass  of  the  enemv,  and  his  action 
m  retreating  after  a  brief  but  honorable  resistance 
was  wise.    But  his  loss  was  very  severe,  making  a 
total  of  443  men  killed  or  wounded  and  missing 
while  the  Americans  had  lost  only  150. 

Thus  in  one  day  a  total  change  had  come  over 
the  control  of  the  Niagara  frontier.     Every  British 
post  was  abandoned,  and  the  United  States  \vas  in 
720 


THE   CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 
full  possession.    Vincent,  after  a  brief  rest  at  Beaver 

from  ^°T ■     "'''  '"^  *^""*""  ="'  ''"'"^k  at  on 
from  tl>e  Americans  under  Dearl>orn,  Intt  Dcarbon, 
hav.n^  done  so  well  in  one  day.  failed  to  follow   m 
h.s  advantage,  and  lost  an  opportunity  which  Tat  r 
cost  h,m  dearly.     With  all  the  men  that  he    ad  " 

VmrtTd  dr^  ""f  '"'""''''''''y  "^  have  plrld 
But  he  allowed  several  days  t,.  m,  bv  and 
m  that  t,me  Vmcenfs  forces'had  recovered  thei 

I  earborn  set  out  on  the   ,st  of  June  an.l  ouX 

Hetght  ,„  tliree  days,  but  it  was  the  5th  before 
l.e  reached  a  place  called  Slonev  Creek,  only  seven 

r.va  at  that  place  was  mstantly  known  by  Vin- 
«nts  army,  and  one  of  his  officers,  LieuLant- 
Colouel  Harvey,  after  a  reconnaiss.mce,  proposed  . 

but,  as  the  situation  was  desperate.  Vinc.nt  accepted 
the  .suggestion  and  gave  Harvey  the  leadership.  "^ 

A    BRILLIANT    BRITISH    SUCCESS 

Taking  about  700  men,  Harvey  reached  the  Ameri 
can  position  ab<  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  „nune 
6th     Themo^   .nent  was  a  complete  surprise.    The 

ntoTonr"''  ""''T""'  ^""  "^^  '^-P^  --•<^  thrown 
.nto  confusion  and  nearly  all  took  to  flight.     Some 
of  them  attempted  1     fonn  in  line  of  ba.tt  and  e  Jn 
to  nse  a  cannon,  but  in  the  darkness  it  was  impos 
s.ble  for  them  to  proceed  in  any  order  or  with  any 


Dtarttorq 

»lnw  10 
foMuw 

U[>  till 

advintifft 


Americani 
a[  Stony 
Creek 


Surprised 
and  pui  to 

rtighi 


Tiir    TKKCKNTICXARV    IIISrORV    OF    CA.VAt) A 

II"'.'* " '^"""■'^''«*"-      "^'^^  '^™  ''">"-^'  fisl'tinjr  ami   when 
dawn  was  breaking,  the  British  withdrew,  takins; 
with  them  some  guns  and  about  a  hundred  prison- 
ers. incKiding  two  brigadier-generals.  Chandler  and 
Winder.     It  was  nobo<lys  victory  so  far  as  the  itn- 
mediate  results  were  concerned.     The  loss  on  each 
side  was  about  the  same,  bjt  the  nitiinate  analysis 
shows  it  to  have  been  decidedly  a  British  victoiy. 
The  force  under  Dearborn  was  five  times  that  undei^ 
Harvey,   and   Dearborn   was   completely   surprised 
and  his  progress  toward  Burlington  Heights  stopped. 
Undoubtedly  the  Americans  were  not  only  defeated 
but  thrown  into  something  like  a  panic,  or,  in  spue 
of  this  reversal,   they   would  have  gone  ahead   in 
dogged  American  fashion  and  followed  Harvey  to 
Burlington  Heights  and  there  attacked  him  and  the 
entire  British  army.     But  abo-n  this  time,  through 
some  oversight,  the  flotilla  of  boats  which  accom- 
panied the  American  forces  on  the  lake  was  sur- 
prised by  some  British  ships  under  Sir  James  Yeo. 
A  landing  party  from  his  ships  attacked  the  Ameri- 
can camp  and  destroyed  some  of  the  provisions.  The 
effect  of  these  two  reverses,  coming  so  closely  to- 
gether, was  disastrous.    Not  only  did  Dearborn  not 
follow  Harvey  but  he  retired  to  Fort  George  and 
abandoned  his  post  at  Fort  Erie  and  other  posts  on 
the  river.    Thus  was  a  campaign  which  opened  with 
such  high  promise  for  the  Americans  turned  into 
disappointment,  and  other  disappointments  were  to 
follow. 

A  winter's    march 

During  this  winter  reen  forcements  reached  Vincent 

at  Burlington  Heights  in  the  shape  of  a  regiment 

722 


Dearborn 
retrtats  to 
the  river 


I 


THE   CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 
from  Xcu-  nn.nswick.    The  n>arch  of  this  regiment  k„.  rr^ 
s  a  notable  one,  as  ,he  achievement  has  not  oe„ '-■'"" '^^ 

res  ment  uh,ch  was  sta;,oned  at  Kredericton,  N  B 
and  marche<l  overland  from  that  place  to  Oueber' 
m  the  nmldle  of  winter,  a  distance  of  ^45™,^ 
T       'e^',ment    consisted    of    ,,000    men    an.l    J 
The  march  lH;gan  on  thP  14th  of  I^ebruan: 

-.Vn  ;"    ^"'rr  ''f^'  '^''■'  "'"  '"<■"  ""''^^  ">«  ice 

J;i^  They  lost  no  men  on  the  tiip  on  the 

'm;     ^    -.r  was  any  one  ill  when  they  reached  Que- 

>'■■■■    £  ich  man  was  furnished  v.ith  a  pair  of  snow- 

-locs   mcK-rasms,  and  a  blanket.   Therrwas  a  delay 

^    r  .Ke  Temiscouata  for  three  days  caused  by  a 

eu-     ,nowston„.      The    only    difficukv    encoun- 

^;'  ''.'^V'',   .'■"^'  °^  P''°"S'0"'*.  so  that  really  the  onV 

I>arclsh.p  felt  by  the  men  was  that  they  were  hun^y 

■111'  '"V    '*°  1'^'  ="  Q"^'^"^  'hey  set  out  for 
the  scene  of  war.     This  march  must  not  be  for- 

S  whfn""""^  ?'  '"''"■■'"'^'^  "f  ■""■  ^"'l  -heir 

far  he^UV  '  '"'  ^=^P='iP'i"g  '"  the  wmter  i.s 

fo      rols'than  c'"'"'  ='"''  '"  ^"  ^'-'^"^"^  betters.™..., 
tor  troops    than  c.mpa.ynmg-  ni  the  summer,  and"""" 
the  .ympathy  that  ,s  felt  for  soUhers  in  the  f  o.e, 
iVorth  IS  very  often  wasted. 

LAURA    .SECORD 

diTc'liT  °^  '^"  "T  '"■"'"^'' '"  "■«  Upper  Ca.,a-  a  ..„ 
d.an  campaign  was  the  capture  of  Lieutenant-Col- »°''" 
onel  Boerlster's  force  by  a  small  Canadian  band 
Boerlster  was  an  American  officer  who  had  C 
o:^^red  to  attack  a  British  post  near  Twelve-mde 
<-reek.  The  news  of  this  exp.  dition  became  known 
723 


Warned 
British 

of  their 
danger 


Surren- 
dered to  a 
ffreatly 
inferior 
force 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
in  the  family  of  David  Secord,  and  the  exploit  of 
his  wife,  Laura,  in  giving  information  to  the  British 
of  the  approaching  attack  is  one  of  the  choice  stories 
of  the  history  of  Ontario.     She  was  a  woman  of 
thirty-eight,  ihe  i.iother  of  five  children,  and  her 
walk  of  about  twenty-five  miles  all  day  and  part 
of   the    night    was    notable   for   its    bravery   and 
indomitable    spirit,    although    accomplished    under 
?^.^T"r'^?l^^  unfavorable   circumstances   except 
that  the  fields  were  full  of  mud  and  it  was  a  dis- 
agreeaole  day.    At  night  she  ran  across  a  camp  of 
Indians   was  led  by  them  to  Lieutenant  FitzGibbon 
of  the  Forty-ninth,  and  warned  him  of  the  impend- 
ing attack  of  Boerlster.    Soon  afterward.  Boerlster 
came  along,  and  now  his  advance  was  disputed  by 
a  large  force  of  Indians  concealed  in  the  bushes  and 
trees.     A  number  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  he  was 
himself  wounded  twice.    Unable  to  find  the  enemy 
his  force  was  thrown  into  considerable  confusion,' 
and  FitzGibbon  took  advantage  of  the  evident  de- 
moralization of  his  opponents  to  go  forth  with  a 
white  flag  and  demand  Boerlster's  surren<Ier    After 
some  negotiations  and  threats  the  surrender  was  ac- 
complished.    There    were    in    FitzGibbon's    party 
only  about  seventy-five  men  in  addition  to  thrin- 
dians.     It  was  with  this  forcp  that  he  received  the 
surrender   of   an   American   army   of   25   officers 
and  519  non-commissioned  officers  and  men  with 
two    cannon    and    two    ammunition    cars      Ths 
was  an  incident  which  served  to  fill  the  Americans 
with   intense  chagrin  and  correspondingly  to  ele- 
vate tiie  spirits  of  the  Canadians 


7^ 


THE   CAMPAIGN-   OF   1813 
HARRISON'S    CAMPAIGN    AGAINST    DETROIT 

Returning  now  to  the  extreme  western  field  ofproc 
contest    we  recall  that  Proctor  was  left  ?„  cl lee '"-"- 
of  the  Brmsh  fort  at  Detroit.    It  could  no   be    up 
posed  that  the  Americans  would  very  long  permit 

the  year  1813  an  expedition  under  William  Pienr/ 
Harrison,  who  was  Governor  of  the  Terr  to  yo 
Indiana  started  from  Fort  Wayne,  about  ifo  miles 

expeditions  were  sent  out  against  it  by  Proctor 
and  m  one  of  these  the  Indians  butcherV  several 

th  part  "ofThrrd-  ^"'^  ""  "'  P«^f--nce  on 
the  part  of  the  Indians  was  calculated  to  cast  dis- 
ci edit  upon  many  other  British  operations  t  rough- 

°he  ir/-    ?T'''  ^^''"^^■^'^^.  -l'"  commanded 

the  advance  of  Harrison's  army  from  Fort  Wayne 

had  entrenched  himself  on  the  Maumee  River  at  a 

place  called  Fort  Meigs.     He  was  ible  tn  1 

the  attacks  made  upon'him  and  I  1   fSier  a  v'anc" -"""' 

There  he  was  surprised  by  an  attack  from  Proctor 
on  January  .,st,  and  after  a  sharp  contest  la^l 
for  only  an  hour,  the  Americans  were  defeased  with 
gr  at  slaughter  and  compelled  to  capitulate.  The 
British,  however,  lost  severely,  about  ,82  killed  and 
wounded  ,n  a  force  of  500  men.  There  we  Z, 
prisoners  taken,  and  two  or  three  hundred  men  must 

tr cS^rf' tT- "°""''='-  ^^ "'^'■-- ""-'^ 

W  r'^p        ,         "  ""^^  ^  '"'^sf  decisive  victory 
for  the  British,  and  gave  Proctor  great  renown^ 

7H 


l:     .4 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
although  after  the  battle  he  hurried  back  to  Am- 
herstburg,  leaving  wounded  prisoners  to  be  butch- 
ered by  the  Indians.  The  Legislature  of  Quebec 
passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  him,  and  Pre"ost  im- 
mediately promoted  him  to  be  brigadier-general. 
It  was  unfortunate,  as  time  was  to  show,  that  the' 
dashing  qualities  displayed  by  Proctor  in  this  cam- 
paign should  have  not  been  accompanied  by  other 
traits  which  were  neceisary  to  make  him  a  com- 
petent commander. 

General    William    Henry    Harrison    was    now 
determined  to  win  Detroit  at  any  cost.     He  reor- 
ganized his  force  and  built  a  more  substantial  fort 
on  the  Maumee,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  r'ver's 
r,™',o„p  "'°""'-     ^'  w^=  t°  attack  this  force  that  Proctor, 
lure  Har-    "s="'  "le  closc  of  April,  Sent  out  an  expedition  of 
ri«,ns(ort  about  1,000  men.     There  were  also  about  1,500  In- 
dians, and  considerable  artillery  and  two  gunboats. 
They  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Maumee  on  the 
1st  of  May,  and  began  an  attack  uixin  the  Amer- 
ican  fort.     Some  batteries  were   erected  on   both 
sides  of  the  river  by  Proctor,  but  these  were  ear- 
ned without  any  great  difficulty  by  Harrison  and 
Clay.  The  latter  had  been  ordered,  after  carrying  tiie 
batteries,  to  retire.     He  failed  to  do  this,  and^as 
cut  off  trom  the  fort  by  the  Indians  under  Tecum- 
seh,  and  450  of  his  men  were  captured.     He  and 
150  others  made  their  escape.     It  was  during  this 
p".™",°    fg'^J  'hat  40  American  prisoners  were  tomahawked 
by  the  Indians,  although  Tecumsch  denied  any  share 
in  the  affair,  ?nd,  it  is  said,  prevented  any  further 
slaughter.     While  the  British  had  thus  far  had  .-.ll 
the  advantage  of  the  campaign,  they  had  not  taken 
Harrison's  fort,  and  they  were  not  likely  to  do  su. 
726 


loma 
hawked 


THE  CAMPAiGN'   OF    1813 
Every  day  that  the  contest  kept  up,  his  hold  erew 
strorger.  wh.Ie  the  British  grew  weaker.    SummeT 
was  coming  on,  the  Indians  were  deserting  and  the 
farmers  ,„  Proctor's  militia  were  anxious^  ref   n 

Froctors  only  choice  to  al^andon  the  siege  which 
he  dKl  about  the  first  week  in  May.  His  loss  C 
been  small  m  men,  but  in  prestige  Jreat. 

forIrere"madeT'''''T  °'  '"^  ^^^'"^'  '"^  ^^'— - 
lort  were  made  durmg  the  summer.     The  first  one  """p' 

was  undertaken  at  the  close  of  July  it  is    aid  bv  tZ '"'" 

urgent  request  of  Tecumseh.    A  ch  Id  ike  a  temnt    t 

from  the  fort  in  order  to  draw  out  a  sortie  -hich 
would  leave  the  fort  unprotected.  The  firing  was 
made  as  proposed,  but  Harrison  was  too  fily  a 
ommander  to  n,ake  a  sortie  without  investiga  fon! 
and  the  campaign  had  to  be  given  up.     But  Harri 

T  .L'  r'^'^"'^^'  ^"'^'h^'-  ^'"^nca'n  fort  i„  tha 
neighborhood,  that  is,  at  Sandusky.     Proc"  r"le,  f 
nimed  to  attack  this  by  assault,  and  led  his  exSd  - 
tion  along  the  lake  to  that  point      CT,X 
brilliantly  defended   by   Co.o^  CroS^t^h^  r^ 
Harnson  s  help,  and  Proctor  was  compelled  to  retur,  '" 

utely  nothing  gained.     If,  instead  of  spending  his 

rid  r "'  rr'r*" ''-''"''  f^^^Aed  s.st 

hi,!  V  "^T'  ^'  '°'''  '"  the  constrticti^  o 
ships  the  result  of  his  efforts  in  western  Canada 
would  have  been  very  different. 

perry's  victory  on  lake  ERIE 

conranfrT'rf  ,"*"''"^  "'''  "'^  ^"'''^^  have 
command  of  Lake  trie  ,n  order  to  keep  up  conimu- 

727 


reaiMt 
'roctor 


Barclay's 

untrained 
force 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
nication  between  Detroit  and  the  base  of  supplies 
Ihis  was  especially  imperative  after  the  Americans 
had  got  control  of  the  Niagara  River,  for   if  the 
Americans  should  once  stop  the  despatch  of  provis- 
ions to  Proctor  via  the  lake,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  his  force  to  be  sustained  because  the  transport  of 
provisions  by  land  was  too  difficult  and  expensive 
Captain  Barclay  of  the  British  navy  was  a  Rood 
officer,  and  used  to  the  utmost  of  its  capacity  the 
material  which  he  had  at  hand.    He  had  come  into 
command  of  the  British  force  on  the  lake  at  the 
end  of  June  with  only  nineteen  sailors  and  five  ships 
with  a  total  of  only  about  40  guns.  There  was  much 
confusion  in  preiwrmg  these  vessels  for  service  and 
Barclay  received  very  little  assistance  from  Proctor 
nor  did  Prevost  seem  to  sense  the  critical  position 
ot  Proctors  army,  for  he  made  no  comprehensive 
provision  for  furnishing  Barclay  with  ships.    In  the 
mean  time  Commodore  Oliver  Hazard  Perry  of  the 
United  States  navy  at  Pres<|u'Ile  had  been  putting 
m  his  time  fitting  out  a  formidable  flotilla,  and  had 
succ-ecded  in  cutting  off  the  despatch  of  provisior. 
to  Detroit. 

Lid  .„         ^y  "''^  '■'"«■  ">at  is,  the  first  of  September,  Proc- 
o(t,rb..ti.,  tors  supplies  had  greatly  diminished,  and  besides 
Sept  .0     h,s  i,cxx3  men  he  had  over  3,500  Indians  who  were 
dependent   upon   him  for   provisions.      Perry   had 
cruised  up  to  Amherstburg  and  held  the  whole  force 
blockaded.    The  crisis  now  became  so  acute  that  it 
was  necessary  for  Barclay  to  make  an  attempt  to  rid 
the  lake  of  the  American  fleet,  so  on  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember he  sailed  from  Amherstburg  with  four  ships 
and  two  small  boats  and  a  crew  of  345  men,  few  of 
whom  were  experienced  sailors.  On  the  next  morning 
72a 


THE   CAMPAIGN-   OF   Isl.] 

Commodore  Perry  sailed  from  Put-in-Bay  with  his 
fleet,  cons.stmg  of  nine  ships  and  a  crew  of  650  m  n 
No  on  y  m  numbers  was  the  American  fleet  supe^ 
nor,  but  m  long  g,„>s  and  in  the  quality  of  the  crews 
Th.s  battle  on  Lake  Erie  is  one  of  th'e  histor^and 
proudest  contests  of  the  history  of  the  United  Stat  s 

I  iD    the    °T  ■:""''■      •■^'"^°"^'^  P^^fy'^  flag.  -'- 

e  Tept  uo  ^  1  u  ^''''\^"  '•"'■'"^  'he  contest, 
le  kept  up  the  fight  on  the  "Niagara."  BarclaJ 
h.mself  ,vas  wounded ;  the  captain  of  one  of  h,s  bes^ 
sh,ps  was  killed  early  in  the  action,  and  ano  h  wa 
severely  wounded,  so  that  the  direction  of  the  flee 
was  ,n  mexperienced  hands.  The  contes  lasteH 
most  of  the  day,  .„d  was  witnessed  by  a  "-.rg  crowd 
on  the  Americui  shore.  It  was  one  of  fh»  . 
sp^tacu,      of  .„  inland-sea  b^ttLs^^of  hlst'o^Tnd 

contest,  as  we  all  know,  ended  in  a  complete  Amer 
f  em.  vid,,  v,c,.'-    The  British  lost  in  this  b.ttle 

nETRCT    RET.^KEN   AXD    PROCTOR    OVERWHELMED 

This  battle  settled  the  fate  of  Proctor's  armv     It , 
Officers   that,  w.tli  wmter  coming  on,  he  could  nnf  "'""•'"' 

l>^  k.,ew  th!;  ^f  ^P^"^"y  ''''  his  post  critical  since  1 

"e  knew  that  Harrison  w.th  5,000  men,  only  a  few 

7V  ^ 


Britiih 

b«gin  to 


No  pUD  lo 
wiibsund 
attack 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
miles  away,  would  soon  be  upon  him.     The  only 
thing  to  do.  therefore,  was  to  retreat  to  Burlington 
Heights,  on  Lake  Ontario,  where  Vincent's  army 
was  in  camp.     Tecumseh,  the  Shawnee  chief,  was 
very  much  opposed  to  retreat,  but  he  was  finally 
won  over,  and  preparations  for  the  march  began 
very  soon  after  the  news  of  Barclay's  defeat.     It 
is  unnecessary  to  give  in  detail  the  story  of  this 
retreat.     It   was  accomplished   by  about  as  many 
blunders  as  any  campaign  in  all  history.     Proctor 
seems  to  have  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  not 
be  followed,  and  that  the  Americans,  after  having 
taken  Detroit  and  Amherstburg,  would  kindly  per- 
mit him  to  get  away.     Too  many  generals,  both  on 
the  British  and  the  American  side,  had  shown  this 
failing,  but  Harrison  was  not  built  that  way.     He 
was  on  Proctor's  track  almost  from  the  first,  for  he 
came  acros.';  the  lake  as  soon  as  he  could  get  his 
force  ready  after  Perry's  victory,  and  landed  jn-t 
below  Amherstburg  on  Scptcmlier  27111.    He  first  took 
possession  of  Detroit,  where  Proctor  had  burned  all 
the  public  buildings,  and  .on  October  2d,  with  4.000 
men.  he  left  Sandwich  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.    He 
was  unencumbered  by  any  he:ivy  baggage,   while 
Proctor  had  an  enormous  lot  of  baggage  and  other 
impedimenta.     By  this  time  Proctor  was  moving 
along  in  a  desultory  way  as  if  on  picnic  bent.    But 
when   his    force   had   arrived   near  t!-e   village  of 
Moraviantown.  it  halted  and  an  attempt  was  made 
to  form  a  line  to  prepare  for  the  attack  of  Harri- 
son's force,  which  every  one  knew  was  coming  on 
rapidly.     But  there  was   absolutely  no  discipline; 
there  was  no  order  of  battle,  no  fortification,  no 
plan  of  attack  or  defense  or  provision  for  retreat. 
730 


THE  CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 

c?m\forwLT,r  "^''  ^^'"   ^'"''""'^  "«""-- 
came  forward,  led  by  1,500  mounted  Kentucky  rifle- '«"'"'  •"-■ 

Ze\n"t  f " ""' 'u''^"' '^' ^"''^'' ""« ^v^s not :i"".r. 

awe  to  stand  more  than  one  or  two  voJlevs  Tliev  "■""«»■ 
renderid  "'7'^"  -"d  within  a  few  minuies  sur-oTs 
rendered.  Among  those  killed  was  Tecumseh. 
Th,s  Shawnee  chieltam  has  been  sometimes  pictured 
as  a  sort  of  demigod.  As  a  matter  of  Let  he 
seems  to  have  felt  a  great  hatred  toward  the  Ameri- 
cans and  to  have  led  many  expeditions  and  move- 
ments  which  were  bloo<lthirsty  and  treacherous 
n  was  not  witliout  reason,  therefore,  that  all  the 
American  settlements  in  the  Ohio  country  rejoiced 
when  they  heard  of  his  death.  They  might  have 
shown  their  feelings  in  a  finer  way  U,an  by  using 
his  skin  as  a  razor  strop,  but  that  was  only  one  of 
the  pleasantries  and  rude  customs  of  life  on  the 
frontier. 

During  this  fight  Proctor  played  safety      VVhpn  „ 
his  men  surrendered,  he  was  nowhere  near'     There  -  ™    " 
were  only  about  800  whites  and  Indians  in  the  HnendghT" 
that  awaited  Harrison,  but  Proctor  had  with  him 
when  next  heard  from,  at  Burlington  Heights,  a  total 
force  of  246  men  and  S3  horses.     It  seems  gen- 
erally understood  that  this  force,  wliich  ought  to 
have  Ijeen  standing  by  comrades  in  ihe  battle   was 
giiardmg  Proctor's  baggage  and  insuring  the  safety 
ot  Proctor's  wife.     How  many  lives  Proctor's  wife 
and  baggage  cost  the  British  armv  has  not  been 
estimated,   but  the  whole  episo<lc  was  enough  to 
damn  Proctor  in  the  estimation  of  !.is  men  and  of 
lie  whole  country.     Proctor  attempted  to  vindicate 
his  conduct,  hut  it  seems  to  have  been  an  his  part 
a  clear  case  of  panic  and  an  undue  desire  for  the 
731 


It;  i  ■ ■ 
I- ■  * ' 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

«°.«u.«.    '^'.^'y  °f  h"''  P^I'^'y  an'l  "'is  family.    Proctor  was 
.ndpub.     tried  by  court-martial  at  Montreal  during  the  latter 

mlT'  P''"  °^  "'^  "'''''  J-^^""'  and  while  the  court  brought 
in  a  general  exculpation  it  found  him  guilty  on  sev- 
eral of  the  charges  and  he  was  sentenced  to  be  pub- 
licly reprimanded  and  to  be  suspended  from  rank 
and  pay  for  six  months.    The  general  order  which 
recorded  this  verdict  was  even  more  emphatic  of 
disapprobation  of  Proctor's  acts  than  was  the  rourt- 
martial.     After  the  battle  Harrison's  men  burned 
Moraviantown,  a  lawless,  shameful  act.     The  pris- 
oners taken  by  Harrison  were  sent  to  Ohio  and  then 
to  the  Frankfort  Penitentiary  in  Kentuck),  where 
they  were  confined  in  jail  and  handcuffed  and  sub- 
jected to  considerable  indignity. 
This  ended  the  campaign  in  the  Detroit  region 
_       Harrison  allowed  nearly  all  of  his  troops  to  eo 
.he  indi.„,horne  and  left  there  a  small  garrison.    The  defeat 
at  Mora\'iantown  meant  that  not  only  would  the 
British  no  longer  molest  the  United  States  troops 
m  the  West,  but  that  the  Indiarus  were  completely 
cowed.    And  the  Indians  were  the  backbone  of  the 
British   forces  there.     Many  otherwise  intelligent 
people  who  can  not  understand  the  hatred  of  the 
Western  settlers  for  the  Indians  and  regard  it  as 
an   evidence  of  barbarism  should  read  the  whole 
stor/  of  these  border  wars.    The  part  played  by  the 
Indians  m  that  Western  cair^paign  was  most  costly 
to  tlie  United  States.    As  Henry  Adams  so  well  ex- 
presses It  :■  "No  more  than  seven  or  eight  hundred 
British  soldiers  ever  crossed  the  Detroit  River-  but 
the  United  States  raised  fully  twenty  thousand  men 
aJid^pem^aMea^t^vejnin^  many 

'  "History  of  the  United  States."  \'ol.  VUL 
732 


Harrison's 
victory  dis 
courages 


li'-es 


THE   CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 
.his  ou.:;^^P     ^■'■«=  '"''--  a.o„e  ,„ade 


the  extreme' Vv'^cV" '""""'*"  "a"  sustained  in  Ch.u„c„ 

ine  extreme  West  were  almost  crushing,  but  thev """  ^^ 

&ve?r      Sh    r  '^^"!^«^^"""''-^  °f  the  war  during 
!.     D        ,  J"'"'''  ^"^^  «■="  in  command  oi  iH 

the  Bnt.sh  naval  forces  on  the  Lakes,  and  h"s  ,mme 
d.ate  command  extended  to  those  on  Uke  Ontario' 

torce.     The  only  naval  expedition  which  Chamicpv 
undertook  during  the  year  was  the    le    ru  t  o^  '^ 

with   PiL        ,  n''T'''  '"""  =''  'f  '"^  fo™er  visit 

.th  P,ke  and  Dearborn  had  destroyed  about  a 
"'ere  was  to  destroy  in  the  Provincial  capital  bu,  be 
nxanaged  to  se..e  some  provisions  and    o  Jpen  tL 
jads  anu  capture  some  cannon.   Yeo  was  <,u^lv  on 

THE    AMERICAN    CAMPAIGN    AGAINST   MONTREAL 

O.v  the  Niagara  frontier  durnig  this  fall  verv  li»l 
ocotrre  ^    The  Americans  st.lf  Jd  ^^.^^^^  il:^^"' 

e  interior  and  a  few  slight  engagements      n«r 

born  by  this  time  had  thorough^'.iekened  of  i!:; 

7J3 


ffirrisoni 


Poor  coal- 
man ilers 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
task  Of  attempting  to  conquer  Upper  Canada,  and 
had  given  way  to  (Jetieral  Wilkinson  with  head- 
quarters at  Sackctfs  Harb.u.  On  tlic  arrival  of 
Wilkinson,  m  August,  it  was  determined  to  make 
an  energetic  attempt  to  capture  Montreal.  His 
plans  for  tins  campaign  were  confirmed  and  highly 
approved  by  Armstrong,  il,e  Secretary  of  War  who 
visited  Sacketfs  Harbor  m  October.  The  general 
plan  of  campaign  was  t!,at  Wilkinson  should  pro- 
ceed down  the  river  I,  the  tie  Perrot;  there  he 
was  to  be  met  with  an  expedition  under  v  .eneral 
Wade  Hampton,  which  should  comr  up  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  march  overland  to  that  place;  together 
they  were  to  advance  against  Uchine  and  then  on 
to  Montreal. 

The  American   forces  on  Lake  Clianiplain  had 
been  singularly  inactive.    Although  there  were  large 
forces  situated  at  Burlington,   Plattsburg,  Cham- 
plam,  and  Swanston,  on  Missisquoi  Bay,  which  had 
been  gathered  there  by  General  Hampton  for  the 
invasion  of  Lower  Canada,  these  places  seemed  to 
have  been  insufficiently  guarded.     It  is  surprising 
to  learn  that,  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  the  British 
commandant  at  Ile-aux-Noix  was  able  to  send  out 
some  gi.nboats  and  troops,  which  destroyed  stores 
and  barracks,  and  captured  provisions  at  Plattsburg 
at  Champlain,  at  Buriiiigton,  and  at  Swanston.   The 
audacity  of  such  an  achievement  in  the  face  of  the 
fact  that  these  places  were  apparently  well  fortified 
and  occupied  by  reasonably  large  forces  of  Amer- 
ican   troops,   shows   how   poorly   they   were  com- 
manded.    However,  these  disasters,  which  were  as 
one  might  jiulge,  considerable  in  money  and  in  the 
embarrassments  to  the  service  which  they  caused, 
734 


THE  CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 

did  not  seem  in  any  way  to  interfere  with  Hamn-H 
on  s  preparations  for  Ins  invasion  of  a.Lda  "^I'^^'r" 
leit  his  heat  <iiinrtor„  :..    \ .  '"-Cr,.,!. 


U(t  k1    1      1  ....aaiuii  oi  i.anada.    He 

Ul.cn  he  had  penetrated  a  few  miles  north  S 

reason  of  mud,  swamps,  and  abattis,  that  he  de- 
termmed  to  abandon  this  route  and  take  another. 
S  he  marche,!  back  across  the  hn  .■  lo  Champla  „ 
and  then,  following  the  Great  Cha^y  River  l»  the 
C  ateaug.u.y  River,  he  was  on  the  way' to 'fonol: 
ruer  to  ,ts  mouth  on  Lake  St.  Lou.s,  when  he 
encountered  a  Canadian  force. 

THE    FIGHT    ,N    THE    WOODS    OF    CHATEAUGUAY 

This  force  had  l^en  recruited  in  great  haste,  but 
vith  admirable  efficiency.  From  various  soirees 
lad  been  gathered  an  army  of  possibly  three  or  four 
thousand  men,  although  the  number  has  been  c«i- 
.santly  understated.    Some  of  these  troops  had  come 

e'll  .„  .'"^   ?"'  ""^""  Lieutenant-Colonel  McDon- 
nell, and  made  a  very  quick  march  across  tlie  coun- 
try.    Others  had  come  from   Montreal,  under  De 
.  alaberry    and  there  were  other  scattered   forces 
^vhlch  finally  combined  to  resist  Hampton's  advance 
on  the  25.I1  of  October.     Then  ensued  at  the  fort 
on  the  nver  a  contest  which  was  abundant  in  its 
on."™"'         ,"'  '"  '"  ^■''<^"""«-'nt.     There  were  Ma„p,„„ 
on!>  300  men  drawn  up  to  oppose  Hampton's  ad- '"""•"'" 
vance,  and  wlien  tiie  American  cavalry  had  put  this  ■""'"'" 
force  to  rout  they  found,  ,0  their  surprise,  that  they 
were  con  routed  with  a  second  line  much  more  for 
midable  than  the  first.    At  this  ponu  De  Salaberry 
showed  great  ingenuity  and   invention.     He  con- 
7J5 


MICROCOPY    RESOIUTION    IFST    CHART 

ANSI  ond  (SO  TEST  CHART  No    2) 


^  APPLIED  IN/MGE     Ine 

ST"  '65^    tosi    MO'n    5tree( 

S-.S  Rjc"es!er,    Ne»    rork         U6C9        USA 

•-^  '"6i   •«  -  0300  -  Pfione 

^£  i'161    ;BB  -  5969  -  To. 


Dr.  Sala 
berry's 

feint  won 


Prevost 

claims 
the  credit 


THE    THRCENTEXARY    HISTORV    OF    CAXADA 
trived  to  I,ave  a  number  of  Iniglers  stationed  in  the 
woods  into  \diich  his  force  ha<l  been  driven  hy  the 
Americans,  and.  uith  some  Indians  and  histy-lnn^ed 
troopers,  they  all  contrived  to  make  suci,  a  'heatlien- 
ish  and  oiillaiKhsh  noise  tliat,  while  in  the  midst  of 
their  charge,  tlie  American  troops  halted  and  won- 
dered what  m  tlninder  was  ahead  of  them.    As  thcv 
stopped,  the  enemy  came  forward,  and  there  ensued 
in  the  woods  a  little  battle  which  was  really  won 
by  the  strategy  of  De  Salaberrv  in  counterfeiting  the 
presence  of  about   10,000  troops.     A  great  many 
accounts  of  this  battle  have  been  printed    but  in 
some  respects  it  was  a  very  simple  maneuvre    and 
a  comman.ler  witi,  any  real  i^tness  for  the  position 
would  not  have  been  deceived  to  any  serious  extent 
i  he  feint  of  having  an  advance  force  give  way  and 
then  be  supported  by  a  stronger  force  has  succeeded 
very  often,  notably  at  the  battle  of  the  Cownens 
where  Greene  defeated  Cornwallis;  but  good  gen- 
eralship would  not  allow  that  old  maneuvre  to  pre- 
vail even  if  It  were  supiwrted  by  noise,  buglers,  and 
yelling.    But  good  generalship  was  not  directing  the 
American  army  that  day,  and  the  result  was  that 
the  Lnited  States  forces  were  so  completely  sur- 
prised to  find  any  opposition  at  all,  and  were  then 
ed  to  so  greatly  magnify  the  numbers  opposing 
them,  that  the  only  course  open  to  the  commander 
was  to  retreat  to  Plattsburg,  which  he  did.     The 
credit  for  this  victory  was  claimed  by  Prevost  him- 
selt,  although  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  he 
so  successfully  belittled  the  achievements  of  the  men 
who  really  did  bring  it  to  pass  that  it  was  not  for 
some  years  that  the  true  facts  were  given  and  the 
real  heroes  of  the  afifair,  De  Salaberry  and  McDoii- 
73S 


I 

I 


THE   CAMPAIGN-   OF    1*13 
ncll    received   thcir   rou-anl.     Dc  Salaberry's  part 
"  the  battle  ,s  especially  uortl,  noting,  fo    it  ^,^s 
St,?V"''°T  """  ""'  '''""=''  Canadians  for    1 
the  At»  ^^-     ''  r'  '""™''-f-?  -experience  for 
he  An,„r.ca„s  to  he  tr.cked  by  any  opposition  force 

retreat  by  a  force  nnicli  inferior. 

ANOTHER    AMERICAN    DISASTER,    AT 
CHRYSTLER's    Karm 

other  ^.,ng•  „f  tl,e  expedition  whicl,  was  to  capture'""" 
Montrea       Disregarding  all  prudence  and  di'sc    !  rl■"^f„.„ 

I7th  of  October  before  his  troops,  to  the  number 
of  8,ooo  men.  embarked  at  Sacke.fs  Harbor,  and 

aescent  of  the  St.   Lawrence.     Now,  beginning  a 
ampaign  ,n  Canada  on  the  5th  of  November  L^s 

1^,  but  Wilkmson  went  on  his  way  rejoicing   and 

lintyT'""'  ''''''  ""=  6th  o/Novfmb 
to  capture  the  country.     Kingston,  which  had  al- 
ready sent  out  one  expedition  that  fall,  and  which 
had  assisted  powerfully  in  the  defeat  of  Han^oii 

o nvnkns"'""'';'  "°  f°"""  '^^•'"■^'  ^f  "'«  despatch 
of  Wilkin  on  s  force  down  the  river  than  its  citizens 
were  employed  to  fall  upon  that  force     Kine  ton  k- 
as  we  may  remember,  was  a  peculiarly  loy4l'  pot'-'- 
It  was  the  seat  of  the  first  settlement  of  die  Loyal- '""" 
ists  ni  Lpper  Canada,  and  it  remains  to-day  Tory 
in  sentiment  and  in  temper  J^ory 

Meanwhile  the   .Americans  proceeded   down  the 
737 


Attacked 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
A„cr,ca„    river,   but   wlien   they   reached   the  Longue   Sault 
divided  and  Rapids  they  divided  into  two  parts,  one,  under  Gen- 
ontpart      eral  Wilkinson,  taking  the  right  side,  and  the  other, 
under  General  Boyd  with  2,500  men,  taking  the  left 
side.     Boyd  landed  about  where  Prescott,  Ontario, 
is  to-day,  and  was  engaged  in  clearing  up  the  coun- 
try and  dispersing  any  British  forces  that  might  be 
hkely  to  annoy  him.     While  there,  on  Movemljcr  loth, 
about  800  British  troops  under  Colonel  .\rorrison, 
which  had  hurried  from  Kingston,  came  up  and  at- 
tacked liini.    Hv  sent  word  to  Wilkinson  of  the  ajv 
proach  of  the  British  column,  but  Wilkinson  did  not 
think  the  matter  was  serious,  and  so  continued  prepa- 
rations to  run  the  rapids,  letting  Boyd  get  out  of  his 
dilemma  the  best  way  lie  could.     If  Wilkinson  had 
sent  a  small  force  to  assist  Boyd,  undoubtedly  they 
could  have  beaten  the  Canadians.     It  was  a  smart 
fight  that  took  place  here,  at  a  spot  called  Chrys- 
tler's  Farm,  and  the  issue  was  not  clearly  decisive. 
The  advantage,  however,  was  with  the  British,  who 
lost  only  181  out  of  800,  while  the  Americans  lost 
about  300  out  of  2,500,  and  perhaps  100  prisoners 
were  taken  by  the  British.     But  Morrison  was  not 
able  to  intercept  Boyd's  connection  with  his  boats, 
and  so  the  Americans  were  able  to  make  their  way 
down  the  river  without  any  further  interruption; 
but  the  defeat— for  defeat  it  was— had  a  depressing 
effect  upon  the  entire  American  army. 

When  Wilkinson  had  arrived  at  th.  foot  of  the 
rapids,  where  he  was  to  make  a  junction  with  Hamp- 
ton, he  learned  that  Hampton  had  been  defeated  and 
conii)clled  to  fall  back  to  Plattsburg.  This  news, 
together  with  the  recent  defeat  of  Boyd's  army,  con- 
vinced Wilkinson  that  it  was  impossible  for' him 
738 


The 

Americans 

really 

beaten 


THE   CAMPAIG.V   OF    1813 

tfJZt'\T-'?  ^"-rf^^'^^--  toward  Montreal  «„.„.,, 
,'c      '     ,     ■^'"'  '''  ""S^'"  ''•■^^•^  known  before  l,e"""« 

S  into  l:    '-'"■'"'■•     """  '"">'  '""'^  "^  ^^°  --  '-'"^»  " 
go  into  winter  quarters,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 

nver,  and  make  the  best  of  ,t.     It'was  in,po°  ible 

o    course,  to  go  back  to  Sacketfs  Harbor  .at  tha 

ine  of  year  and  „p-s,rean,,  and  so  Wilkinson  wen 

I2th  of  February,  when  ,t  was  deci.led  to  divide  the 
force,  part  to  re  urn  to  Sacketfs  Harbor  nd  tt 
other  to  Plattsburg.  Even  on  this  retreat  they  we  e 
harassed  by  the  Canadians,  and  loo  sleigh  bad  of 
stores  and  provisions  were  captured. 

THE    NI.AG.AR.X    FROr.IER    ABANDONED 

Thus  the  end  of  the  campaign  of  1813  was  bv  no 
means  satistactory  to  the  Americans,  iiarr'soi;," 
nl   ir    ^    ^"'.P°=^«=='0"  oi  Detroit,  and  Pe  ry 

Lreek  Chciteanguay.  a.id  Chrystler's  took  a  (rood 
deal  off  the  force  of  the  American  victories  Tnd 
even  on  the  Niagara  frontier,  where  so  Itlo  haj 
been  happening  all  the  year,  there  were  sot  rces  of 
Bntisn  gratification  and  of  .American  niorSon 
McClure  was  m  command  of  the  Americans  at  Fort 

"1^',  \T'  ='gg^«^"e  and  punitive  to  the 

body  oTt'he    "  "f'^.^^-Pt^^  «■-  to  influence 
tne  body  of  the  -opulation  to  forswear  tli.ir  alle- 

fesTful  \?"'  T'^'":  '^"^  '■"  ^'-  '-  -^  --     - 
village  of  ^ewark,  now  Niagara,  on  leaving  it  he '■""' 
■lecided  to  burn  i,,  and  the  order  which  he  gave  was  ''"" 

7J9 


Americans 
retreat 
at-roM  the 
river 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
carried  om  to  the  fullest  extent.  Tliere  were  about 
150  houses  111  the  town,  and  149  of  them  were 
burned.  1  he  necessity  of  this  action  does  not  ap- 
pear. McClure  had  been  given  aulhoritv  to  burn 
the  town  if  it  w..s  a  military  necessity,  'but  there 
was  no  such  military  necessity  apparent,  so  far  as 
we  can  learn,  and  the  affair,  together  with  the 
harsh  measures  which  attended  it,  formed  the  sub- 
ject of  considerable  correspondence  between  the 
British  and  .'\merican  officers  during  the  succeeding 
year,  and  ilcChire's  action  found  no  defense  in  the 
tinted  Slates.  It  was  an  outrage,  and  can  not  be 
regarded  m  any  other  light. 

Pnjbably  because  of  this  outrage  the  British  com- 
mander was  encouraged  to  attempt  retaliation      -V 
small  force  under  .Murray  set  forth  from  Vincent's 
ii^eadquartcrs  to  attack  Fort  George,  whither  Mc- 
Clure had  retired  after  burning  Newark.     To  Mur- 
ray s  great  surprise,  on  arriving  near  I'ort  George 
he  learned  that  McClure  had  abandoned  it  and  fled 
across  the  ruer.    The  abandonment  was  almost  pre- 
cipitous, for  he  left  behind  him  c;)nsiderable  stores 
and  ordnance,  and  he  did  not  destroy  the  barracks 
wdiich  had  been  recently  constructed,  and  even  some 
of  his  tents  had  been  left  standing.     This  showed 
to  the  British  that  McClure  was  not  a  brave  man 
and  this  success  encouraged  them  tc  follow  him 
across  the  Niagara  River  to  Fort  Niagara,  of  which 
he  was  now  in  command. 

THi:    BURNING    OF    BUFFALO 

bH'IZ-^""''''  '^'"  t'™'^  Sir  Gordon  Drummond  arrived  in 
a,ri,.,       Canada,  to  assist  Prevost  in  the  direction  of  mili- 
tary affairs.     He  was  a  native  Canadian    having 
740 


Tin;    CAMPAICV    OF    Isl;; 


i 


MAP    OK    DtTHOIT    AND    WESTERS    LAKE    ERIK 

741 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

D™n,.o„a  been  born  in  Quebec  in  1771-     He  had  entered  the 
a  CM.<ii»i.  .^^„,^.  ^^.,,^„  ciKlilecn  vcars  of  age,  and.  alter  vari- 
ous'campaigns,  liad  worked  himself  up  to  the  posi- 
tion of  heutenant-Kencral.     He  was  a  friend  of  the 
Duke  of  Kent,  and  was  under  obligations  to  hiin 
for  some  of  his  promotions.     On  arriving  at  Que- 
bec he  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Lpi>cr 
Canada,  and  immediately  went  t-.  the  front,     \wt . 
Major-General  Riall,  who  accompanied  him  to  North 
•\merica   he  went  to  take  command  of  the  army  in 
Upper  Canada,  and  reached  Vincent's  head(|uarteri 
a   few   days  after   McClure   had   abandoned    Fori 
George.     He  was  an  excellent  and  aggressive  of 
ficer  and  was  readv  to  further  any  advance  move 
mem,      Murray,    who   had    been    so    energetic   n 
capturing  Fort  George,  urged  an  assault  on  For 
Niagara.     This  was  made  on  December  18th,  an( 
was  a  complete  surprise  to  the  An.erican  forces  an. 
an  easy  victory  for  the  British,    The  coi.  est  laste 
only  a  few  minutes,  so  that  at  the  end  o.   1813  th 
B,iu.h  fl.B  British  flag  floated  where  it  had  been  dou-n  sine 
"        1703     The  garrison  was  not  large,  only  about  42c 
but  the  place  was  well  fortified,  and  the  capture  t 
it  by  the  British  was  clearly  the  result  of  bad  gei 
eralship  and  failure  to  guard  against  surprise  c 
the  part  of  the  Americans. 

The  British  followed  up  their  advantage  by  tal 
ing  Lewiston  the  next  day  and  burning  that  plac 
as  well  as  other  towns  in  the  vicinity.  Fort  En 
opposite  Buffalo,  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Ame 
ican  forces,  and  Drummond  used  this  as  a  basis  1 
operations  against  Buffalo,  After  a  hot  fight 
Black  Rock  and  Buffalo,  the  Americans  were  dnv 
out  of  the  town,  and  Buf  alo  fell  into  the  possessi^ 


over  Fort 

Niagara 

again 


THE   CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 

Of  the  British     There  they  repeated  the  deplorable  «„„.,„ 
action  of  tlic  Aiiicncaiis  at  Newark  ami  York    They  ''""•''• 
burned  the  entire  city  of  Buffalo,  inclu.bng  all  the  '""■"" 
public  buildings  and  whatever  provisions  they  did 
not  want.     There  was  no  more  credit  to  the  British 
Ml  this  action  than  there  was  to  the  Americans  in 
the  other,   but  it  was  retaliation,  and  ur''cr  that 
name  many  sins  are  condoned.     It  was  now  the  1st 
of  Jaimary,  and  the  British  troops,  having  waged  a 
very  plucky  and  effective  campaign,  at  tlie  end  of 
the  year  went  mu,   winter  (luarters,  well  satisfied 
with  their  work. 

The  demoralization  nuule  by  the  failure  of  theG.„„a,. 
American  expedition  against  Montreal  was  apparent  '■"""■« 
m  the  attempt  made  by  each  of  the  three  parties ",""""" 
responsible  for  it  to  charge  it  upon  tlie  other     As  ''■""'"" 
a  matter  of  fact,  we  know  that  all  three  were  to"""" 
l)lanie,  Hampton  least  of  all,  and  Armstrong  most 
ot  all.    1  be  latter,  as  Secretary  of  W  ar.  was  a  con- 
spicuous misfit,   for  whose  apiwintment   President 
Madison  was  responsible.    He  designed  a  campaign 
tiiat,  witli  the  men  and  means  at  hand  at  that  time 
of  year,  was  absurdly  impracticable,  and  the  generals 
under  bini  who  were  leading  the  two  divisions  of  the 
expedition  ought  really  to  have  been  thanked   for 
not  losing  their  armies.     An  amusing   feature  of 
this  campaign  is  the  strikingly  different  view  placed 
upon  Hampton's  defeat  at  Chatcauguav  by  British 
and  American  authors.     Some  American  w'riters  do 
not  even  mention  that  Hampton  met  any  opposing 
force.     Others  treat  the  battle  as  a  mere  skirmish 
and  speak  of  tlie  entire  campaign  as  bloodless,  which 
IS  far  from  the  truth.    But  some  British  authoiities 
devote  pages  and  pages  to  this  little  affray,  as  if  it 
'■13  Canada  — 16  Vol.11 


THr.    TERCENTEN-ARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

wZ"  "'7  '""^  "f  '1'^  S^"t  battles  of  the  war.  Kingsford, 
indeed,  j^ives  about  twice  as  imicli  space  to  it  as  lie 
does  io  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie.  In  fact  it 
may  be  rcinarl<ed  at  this  point  that,  for  some  pecul- 
iar reason,  the  history  of  the  War  of  i8i  j  shows  in 
Its  treatment  the  greatest  bias  on  national  lines  of 
any  history  which  I  have  ever  read.  We  shall  see 
how  diverse  these  accounts  are  nlien  we  come  to  the 
battle  of  Lundy'.s  Lane. 


744 


CH.U'TI'k    XLI 


THE    EVENTS    OF     1S14 

VyiLKlXSOV    was    in    supreme    comman.l    at  w„i.i„«,„ 
i  lattsburg  ader  liis  letircineiit  to  th;it  place  ""'""'  ''>  • 
an,l  early  ,„  the  spring  again  l,cgan  his  prcnara-"""'""" 
t.ons  for  the  invasion  of  Lower  Canada.     Genera! 
Hamcton  had  shown  himself  the  best  man  of  the 
three  by  resigning  from  tlic  anry,   so  Wilkinson 
was  now  unliampered.  and  in  March,  at  the  head 
of  4.(100  men.  lie  set  out  for  Canada;  just  what  he 
expected  to  do,  no  one  seems  to  k^o^v,  except  to 
destroy  any  British  force  he  n.iglit  meet  just  across 
the  Ime,     He  knew,  of  course,  that  he  coi-ld  not 
make  his  vvay  to  Montreal.    In  his  march  forward 
he  had  to  cross  Lacolle  Creek,  ten  miles  south  of 
iIe-au:c-Noix.     At  that  crossing  siood  a  stone  mill 
two  sfones  high,   which  served  as  a  fort  fc--  the 
Br.ti.h.     Only  about  200  men  held  the  fort,  and  D,.pariT 
Wilkinson  iiad  4,000  excelltntly  drilled  soldiers     He"'"" 
supposed  tiiat  he  would  have  an  easy  time  in  cap- ""'" 
turing  It,  but  when  he  reached  it.  on  March  30th 
he  fo-md  that  it  was  a  very  formidable  obstruction' 
I  hen,   too,  the  roads  were  practically  impassable 
with  si.cw  and  mud,  and  tlie  weather  was  as  de- 
pressing and  miserable  as  March  weather  in  the 
North  .an  be.     With  his  two  twelvj-pound  field 
guns  he  opened  fire  on  the  mill,  but  in  spite  of  all 
his  efforts  that  building  was  pra-.tically  unharmed 
745 


Wilkinson 
at)ute<l 


New  blood 
on  the 
American 
side 


TlIK    TlkCK.NTi  NAUY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

after  two  hours  of  firiiiR,  Then  this  great  hero, 
uithoiit  niiy  fiirtluM-  attcinpt  to  t.ike  it,  retreated  to 
Cliamplain,  ami  aiiotlicr  campaign  against  Canada 
was  clialked  down  a  faihne! 

This  is  the  last  tliat  we  sliall  hear  from  Wilkin- 
son as  an  active  commander.  His  unfdriuiiatc  (iasco 
led  to  a  torrent  of  ahiise  against  him  from  piihlic 
and  press,  so  that  ho  was  forced  to  ask  for  a  court 
of  nupiiry.  This  court,  while  passing  some  very 
severe  judgments  upon  his  comhict.  gave  him  a  ver- 
dict of  acquittal,  but  so  damaging  were  the  facts 
brought  out  -igainst  him  that  he  wms  never  again 
placed  in  i  .miand.  It  is  difficidt  to  give  a  correct 
judgment  upon  Wilkinson.  Dr.  K.  C.  Habcock  de- 
clares that  "Wilkinson  was  perhaps  the  scurviest 
knave  who  ever  wore  the  straps  of  a  general  in  the 
United  States  army,"  '  anil  Scott,  in  his  memoirs, 
refers  to  him  as  "an  unprincipled  imbecile."  It  is 
certainly  very  unfortunate  that  a  man  who  was  not 
respected  by  his  brother  ofirtcers  or  his  men  was  in 
command  of  the  army  at  that  critical  period.  Hut 
for  a  portion  of  bis  failure  in  this  war  we  must  lay 
the  blame  upon  the  imcompetent  Secretary  of  War, 

Without  counting  this  little  expedition  into  Can- 
ada, the  campaign  of  1814  began  with  the  opera- 
tions on  the  Niagara  frontier.  This  year  was  cer- 
tain to  be  a  better  one  for  .\nierican  arms,  because 
the  army  was  no  longer  encumbered  with  Dt  arborn 
and  Wilkinson  and  Hampton— old  men.  Fresidcnt 
Madison  appointed  two  new  inajor-generals,  Jacob 


'  Wilkinson  was  alleged  to  be  concerned  in  tlie  Aaron  Burr 
conspiracy  of   1807  and  narrowly   escaped   indictment.     His 
career  was  full  of  intrigue  and  scandal.     After  the  war  he 
went  10  Mexico  and  lived  initil  his  death  in  18^5 
746 


Tllli    EVfiSTS   OF    1SI4 

Brown  and  George  Izard,  and  six  new  britradie. 

inclii.linf,'    WinCdd    Sv  ,tt,    Macotnl,.    and    Gaines 
Scott  and  lirown  were  to  be  intimately  asscKriatcd 
"1  this  year's  llglitinR;.  and  they  were  (ifiliters  hc- 
yun.l  (luestion,    lirown  was  a  Quaker  by  birth,  and 
had  no  niditary  training,  bm  he  ha<l  shown  iiini- 
«•  I  an  excellent  commander.     Scott  was  a  trained  .^.n„., 
--Idler,  destined  to  brilHant  service  in  this  war  and  "'"""'' 
in  the  Mexican  War,  and  to  have  the  supreme  com-"""" 
mand  in  the  great  Civil  War  oniy  wlicn  he  was  too 
old  and  mfirm  to  fill  it.     General  Izard  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  Xiapara  campaiKn.  bnt  was  or<k-ed 
to  succeed  Wilkinson  at  Plattsbmg.     As  his  cam- 
paign came  in  the  fall,  we  shall  now   follo-v  the 
fortunes  of  the  much  fought-o-er  Niagara  frontier. 
iNo  movement  was  made  early  i„  the  year   as  was 
expected.     Secretary  Armstrong  was  very  anxious 
to  attack  Kingston,  the  real  British  head,|uarters  in 
Upper  Canada,  but  Chauncey,  who  commanded  the 
naval  forces  on  I    '<e  Ontario,  steadfastly  refused 
to   sanction    this       mpaign,    und    in    spite    of    its 
strength,  or  pcrh.ps  because  of  it,  Kingston  was 
not  attacked  during  the  entire  war.   Perhaps  Chaun-  ,„i„,h 
cey  was  wise  in  refusing  to  risk  battle  \vith  Veo  •"'"">»'« 
but  his  conservatism  was  constantly  called  coward- oma',. 
ice;  a,id  m  spite  of  all  the  monev  and  stores  nut 
mto  Sackett's  Harbor,  Lake  Ontario  continued  to 
be  ruled  by  the  British  without  opposition-a  pe- 
culiar condition  of  alfairs.  considering  the  strength 
ot  the  American  naval  forces. 

brown's    INV.\SI0N    of    NIAGARA 

It  was  evident,  however,  that  some  offensive  move- 
ments must  be  taken  by  the  United  States,  for  the 
747 


Brlttih 
reen  force- 
meats 
Gomioff  to 
Quebec 


THE  TERCENTENARY  HISTORY  OF  CANADA 
British  troops  in  Canada  were  soon  to  be  reenforced 
Napoleon  had  been  beaten  and  sent  to  Elba,  and 
information  came  early  in  t!ie  spring  that  10,000 
soldiers  would  be  sent  immediately  to  Quebec !  This 
meant  that  all  the  troops  in  Lower  Canada  could 
without  fear  of  crippling  it,  be  sent  in  the  summer 
to  Upper  Canada.  In  June,  General  Brown  was  in 
command  on  the  east  side  of  the  Niagara  River  of 
an  American  force  variously  estimated  at  from 
3,000  to  5,000  men.  It  was  his  intention  to  make 
a  campaign  against  Upper  Canada  which  should 
effect  something  definite'  and  permanent  before  any 
help  could  come  from  abroad.  So  in  June  he  laid 
his  plans  for  an  attack  f"  .t  on  Fort  Erie,  opposite 
Buffalo,  and  then  against  Fort  George,  and  later 
the  British  headquarters  at  Burlington  Heights 
it    IS  very  difficult  to  know  precisely  how  many 

"J«"  B'"°^^"  had  at  the  beginning  of  this  campaign. 

ofBrown.  Henry  Adams,  who  is  a  careful  and  accurate  com- 
pter of  statistics,  shows  that  Brown's  army  was 
divided  into  four  parts,  consisting  of  Scott's  brig- 
ade,   Ripley's   brigade,    Porter's   brigade,   and   the 
artillery.    Scott's  brigade,  according  to  his  estimate 
consisted  of  2,122  men,  all  regulars  from  Massa- 
chusetts, Vermont,  Pennsylvania,  and  Connecticut 
Ripley's  brigade  was  also  regulars,  but  contiined 
only  1,415  men,  and  was  recruited  in  Massachusetts 
and  New  York.     Porter's  brigade  was  wholly  mili- 
tia, being  600  volunteers  from  Pennsyh-ania  and 
some  Indians.     The  artillery  had  413  men.     This 
gives  altogether  4,780  men  and  a  few  hundred  In- 
dians; but  probably  not  more  than  3,500  men  were 
in  the  army  which  aciually  invaded  Canada  at  that 
time.      \et   Kingsford   assumes  that   Brown  com- 
748 


ClashiniT 
estimates 
on  the  siie 


THE    EVENTS    OF    ISU 


THE  NIAGARA  PKNlNSt'LA 
749 


Scott  and 
Kiall  mcf 
at  Strcet'i 
Crwk, 
July  ,th 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
manded  6,000  troops  on  the  field.     Riall,  on  June 
22d,  on  the  Niagara  River,  had  about  2,000  men, 
besides  the  garrisons  at  York,  Burlington  Heights,' 
Fort  Niagara,  and  Fort  George. 
r:j,'ytkc„      ^'°'''"'^  movement  against  Fort  Eric  began  on  the 
by  Brown    moming  of  July  3d.    There  was  very  little  resistance 
by  the  fort,  and  it  surrendered  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon;  170  prisoners  were  thus  taken.     About 
sixteen  miles  north  stood  the  town  of  Chippewa, 
and  to  that  point  General  Riall  hastened  from  Fort 
George.    The  American  army  also  advanced  in  that 
direction,  and  on  the  morning  of  July  4th  the  two 
armies  were  practically  facing  each  other  on  both 
banks  of  a  little  stream  called  Street's  Creek,  about 
two  miles  south  of  Chippewa  River.    With  his  3,500 
men  it  seemed  like  an  easy  task  for  Brown  to  defeat 
the  2,000  of  Riall's  when  the  battle  took  place  the 
next  day.    To  Scott's  great  surprise,  Riall  advanced 
iiLstead  of  waiting  to  receive  the  American  attack. 
Scott,  after  drilling  his  troops,  crossed  tlie  creek 
He  had  no  idea  that  the  fight  was  coming  so  soon, 
until  Riall's  force  was  seen  coming   through   the 
woods.     Scott  then  advanced  to  meet  him,  and  a 
very  hot  fight  took  place  there.     Riall  called  upon 
the    Royal    Scots    and    the    looth    Regiment,  and 
charged,  and,  as  the  Americans  were  also  advanc- 
mg,  the  two  forces  came  into  actual  personal  con- 
tact.    This  charge  was  a  very  jrief,  but  a  very 
famous,  one,  and  has  been  compared  by  one  Brit- 
ish author  to  the  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade.     It 
was.  however,  disastrous  for  the  British  troops.  The 
three  American  twelve-pounders,  of   which   Tow- 
son  was   in  command,   really  won  the  fight.     By 
their  fire  the  whole  British  line  was  practically    n- 
750 


THE    EVENTS   OF   1814 

aStArV:,'''".'"P''^''  '"■'^^^^  '"'"'"i  shortly  SCO,., 
after  he  found  that  Scott  had  won.'  Thus  Hiis  b-ittle  "'"'■"""' 
was  not  so  one-si<led  in  the  ■uM„lx;rs  actuaMy  enfrarred 
as  has  hce„  sometimes  pictured.     As  a  matter  of 

Tad;  of'  f '""^  '"'"  °^  '^'"'■^  °PP°^^^  Scotfs  bri- 
gade of    rom  1,500  to  .,800.     Of  course  it  was 
good  tact,cs  for  Riall  to  attack  Scott  before  Ri,> 
ley  s  brigade  came  up,  and  his  defeat  was  all  the 
more  d.stressmg.    In  this  charge  Riall  lo.st  515  men,  m„v, 
not  mcludmg  Indians,  which  was  about  one-third  ,■""'"■ 
of  h,s  force,  while  Scott  lost  about  297  men      ot""' 
■nc  udmg  Indians.    This  loss  on  the  British  side'  was 
ternbly    arge,  considering  the  fact  that  the  battle 
lasted  only  about  half  an  hour.     Henry  Adam-  savs 
dSn?the"^"'^  1  ^'■'■"''^^^^  ''-  tl/onl^^oecaZ 

THE    BATTLE    OF    LUNDy's    LANE 

bt"'to'Burl'"'r  """"  r',*'""  '°  'he  north  and  m„„„.„„ 

CrLk   o?^"'Srh;«     r  '"'  '°  Twe,ve-Mi,e»'r 
force,  W  fL  ^'^"''Y'"''";     Tie  movements  of  both  «.re«ei, 
forces  for  the  next  few  days  were  extremely  hesita- ""'"'■"» 
mg,  and  with  goo<l  reason.     Brown  began  to  see 
that  even  after  this  victory  the  proposition  of  dear! 
1"1"P  ,"'^  '"?'■'  P^"''"'"'^  "-^is  a  difficult  one.    He 
assertion,  that  he  had  expected  help  from  Chauncey 

assen'that'stu  wo/h"'-    ''""'''  ='""  '''"""''''^  >•-"--- 
isseri  tnat  bcott  won  because  reenforced.    But  the  r^nnrf.. 

wer„r;reru:r  ^'""^- '-  ^'--  -  ^"^  -cef  :„r- ': 
751 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

of  Forts  Niagara  and'  George,  but  Chauncey,  with 
his  usual  Fabian  policy,  made  no  movement  in  this 
direction,  so  Brown  was  left  to  depend  entirely  upon 
the  army  for  success.  He  soon  learned  that  three 
or  four  days  after  the  battle  Riall  had  received  con- 
siderable reenforcements.  and  more  were  coming 
from  Kingston  under  Drummond.  Brown  had  ad- 
vanced to  Queenston  and  almost  to  Fort  George, 
but,  fearing  a  trap,  on  July  241!!  he  withdrew  to 
Chippewa,  and  this  movement  led  Riall  to  start 
against  him  from  his  camp  at  Twelve-Mile  Creek. 
Now,  according  to  Ripley's  book,  the  whole  strengtli 
of  Brown's  army  was  only  about  2,600  effectives, 
while  Riall,  only  thirteen  miles  away,  was  exijecting 
large  reenforcements  to  his  i.^oo  men. 

fngml'^^L  '^''''  '^'"^  "'-'"  "^''"^y  bothered  Brown  was  to 
of  force.     finiJ  out  on  which  side  of  tlie  river  the  British  at- 
tack  was   to   be   made.     Drummond   disembarked, 
July  25th,  with  his  regiments  at  Fort  Niagara  (on 
the  American  side)   and   soon  two  Britisli   forces 
were   inarching  south,   one  under  Tucker  on  the 
American   side   toward   Buffalo,   the   otlier,   under 
Morrison,  on  the  Canadian  side  toward  Chippewa. 
But.  in  the  afternoon,  Drummond,  fearing  a  battle 
at  Chippewa,  ordered  Tucker  to  cross  from  Lewis- 
ton  and  at  Queenston  unite  with  Morrison's  force. 
With  about  900  men  out  of  this  force   (the  rest 
being   sent    back   to   garrison    Forts    George   and 
Niagara),  Drummond  began  his  march  along  the 
Canadian  side  toward  Lundy's  Lane.    It  was  a  very 
Brown       perplexing  moment  for  Brown.     He  did  not  know 
Ptrpkied    ^,^,1,  ]j|^^  jj^  j^^  evening  that  Drummond  had  re- 
called his  men  from  Lewiston,  so  about  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  he  ordered  General  Scott  to  march 
753 


THE   KVENTS   OF   1814 

iron  Leu.ston.    \\  hen  Scott,  soon  after  five  o'clock  """"'^ 
had    crossed    the    Chippewa    bridge    an.l  °,eared 
Luncy  s  Lane,  he  fonnd  to  his  st.rprise   l"at  he    on 
fronted  an  army.  This  was  part  of  Rial!'     or  e  ami 
consisted  of  about  i.ooo  men.     It  ^^•as  awai  ,W   e 

R  a  1  o.dered  a  retreat,  and  was  inarching  from  the 
fiekl  when  Dr.„nmon,l  with  his  reginient  a^-rive  1  and 
countermanded  tl,c  order.  This  is  the  w.ay  the  an le 
of  Lundy's  Lane  happened  to  be  fought  w1  ere  i  t'v" 

Drummond  had  then  about  i.^  n,en      T w  ite 
huncU-ed  more  of  Ri,-dl's  force  from  Twelve  Mle 

n-t  of  a  low  lull  m  front  of  his  centre,  while  back  of 
h.m   ran   Lundy's  Lane.    The  sight  of  this   force 
arrayed   m   line   of   battle   was   all    General    S 
needed,   and   withotu   waiting   for  reenforce.ne,^ 
he  immediately  attacked.     This  attack  was  r.ressedn 
so   vigorously   that   before   the   left   br^     co  n  ""-'^ 
manded  by  Riall  could  recover  itself  the  Ame    - 
cans  had  broken  through  and  actually  captured  R^ll 

Ihis  at  ack  began  abo.n  seven  o'clo  '  in  the  after- 
noon, then  daylight,  but  before  it  ed  at  nh,e 
o'clock,  darkness  had  fallen.  Scott  was  able  as  we 
have  sa,d,  to  drive  back  the  British  left  but  the 
centre,  guarded  by  the  artillery  on  the  hill,  and  e 
nght  wore  too  strong.  Scott  was  certainly  outnun,- 
Dered.  American  historians  assert  that  he  had  only 
about  i.ooo  men  when  he  went  into  the  fght  and 
he  kept  up  h,s  fighting  until  nine  o'clock,  m  spite 
of  all  the  eiiforts  of  the  British  to  destroy  him  Had 
7S3 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
Drummond  at  this  point  used  Riall's  tactics  of  a 
chargre,  it  would  have  gone  very  badly  with  Scott's 
httle  force,  but  Drummond  acted  on  the  defensive 
throughout,  and  was  not  able  to  defeat  and  drive 
„":r,o".  f  ''f  ^'■^^^i'^'Jts-     There  was  a  'ull  in  the  fighting 
about  nnie  o  clock,  and  wlien  it  was  resumed  both 
sides  were  found  to  be  reenforced.     Perhaps  the  ar- 
rival of  tiiese  reenforccments  auised  the  lull ;  proba- 
bly It  was  sheer  exhaustion  on  both  sides.    However 
the    reinforcements    which    Drummond    received' 
aniountmp:  to  aUnit  1,200  men.  raised  his  potential 
torce  to  about  3.000  men,  while  Brown  probably 
had  about  2,.3oo.^-    Or,  if  each  side  had  lost  400  men 
before  imie  ocloclc,  after  that  the  British  had  in 
action  about  2,600  and  the  .Americans  2  200     Both 
American  and  Canadian  writers  have  "stretched" 
the  truth  as  to  the  number  of  men  on  each  side 
Wy  estimate,  I  believe,  is  safe  and  as  nearly  accu- 
rate  as  may  be  got. 

The  chief  advantage  on  the  British  side  was  the 

ff^,"u  ^'T  "^  "'"  """"■^  °^  t'lsi--  'i"<=  on  top 
ot  the  hill.  To  win,  it  was  absolutely  essential  for 
the  Americans  to  capture  that  battery.  To  Colonel 
Miller  of  the  2ist  Regiment,  General  Brown,  who 
had  come  up  with  the  reenforccments  and  was  in 
command,  turned  and  asked  him  if  he  would  under- 
take the  hazardous  task.  Colonel  Miller's  reply 
historic  for  its  modesty,  was:  'TU  try,  sir.''^     Tl,e 

'  This  i,i  also  the  estimate  of  G^lili^Ripley,  U.  S.  A  who 
wrote  a  book  on  the  battle.  ' 

'Colonel  Miller  was  years  afterward  in  charge  of  the  cus- 
tom-house  at  Salem,  Massachusetts.  Readers  of  Hawthorne's 
fig.u:::'.Gera',Ii.'!/'^^^''  ^'viaiyms  description  of  the  old 
754 


The 

British 

advantage 


THE  EVENTS  OF  1814 
attempt  was  a  desperate  one,  but  it  was  successful 
t  was  really  effected  by  strategy;  MUle"?  o'" 
suddenly  m  the  darkness  emerged  from  the  bu°l  s 
immediately  in  front  of  the  battery,  and  w  ha 
qu,ck  rush  and  by  bayone.mg  the'^g^mLr  cap- 
tured the  guns.    By  this  maneuvre,  accompan  ed  bv 

the  whole  h.lltop  was  held  by  the  Americans      h 
was  a  tremendous  mometit.    Everything  in  the  Bri 
■sh  Ime  was  m  confusion,     It  was  ten  o'clLk  at 
n.ght,  dark  as  pitch,'     Tl,e  British  were  co  sT-uttL 

and  It  took  some  time  for  them  again  to  form  in 
ime  If  Brown  had  been  able  to  reenforce  Ws  men 
at  that  point  the  victory  would  have  be^n  i^i  Fv" 

He  h  d  no''""  °'  1'"  '''"  '''''  ■-"  -  -^"y  one 

cond^Sn  TT"'-  '"^"■°"P'  ''"'  '"  ^  «^haus'..;d 
conditon,  and  scarcely  an  officer  had  escai«d 
wounds.  Drummond  was  soon  able  to  re-fo  .U^S 
hne,  and  began  a  plucky  fight  to  retake  the  h,l 
So  c^se  were  the  two  hues  that  it  is  said  o  V  en 
or  twelve  yards  separated  them.  They  could  r'^ 
see  one  another  except  by  the  flash  of  L  mus  .- 

Sia;  Ju  T'  *'  ^"'''^  ^'"^"'Pt^d  to  capture 

hat  hill  and  three  times  were  driven  back.    There 

755 


Amcr  leant 

under 

Colaocl 

Miller 
capture 
itie  (funi 


Dramatic 
the  clarlc 


A  drawn 
battle 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

™ur"'"«r  *°""''«J'  Scott  was  SO  badly  wounded  that  he  took 
midoighi  "O  part  in  any  furtlier  campaigns  in  this  war,  and 
the  army  was  in  a  thoroughly  exhausted  condition. 
It  was  at  this  moment  that  Brown  determined  to 
retire.  Whether  we  think  this  was  a  wise  move- 
ment or  not,  it  was  conducted  in  an  orderly  manner. 
The  wounded  were  picked  up,  and  in  good  order 
and  without  haste  they  returned  to  camp.  By  a 
blunder  Ripley  failed  to  take  away  the  cannon 
when  he  left,  much  to  Brown's  astonishment  and 
indignation. 

This  was  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  the  most 
desperate  engagement  of  the  entire  war.  Authori- 
ties will  always  differ  as  to  the  result,  whether  a 
British  or  an  American  victory.  Some  Canadian 
authors  describe  it  as  a  great  British  victory  and 
a  crushing  American  defeat,  while  in  American  his- 
tory it  is  usually  called  either  an  American  victory 
or  a  drawn  battle.  Remembering  the  position  in 
which  Brown  was  before  the  battle,  when,  threat- 
ened on  both  sides  of  the  river,  he  was  compelled 
to  fight  or  retreat,  we  can  not  find  in  his  retirement 
after  the  battle  sure  proof  that  this  retreat  was 
caused  by  defeat  in  the  battle.  On  the  contrary,  it 
was  absolutely  necessary  that,  confronted  with  a  su- 
perior "orce  on  the  field;  a  force  which  had  reserves 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  with  still  other  reen- 
forcements  coming,  it  would  ha\-e  been  madness  for 
him  to  remain  and  risk  another  engagement.  It  is 
clear  to  nie  that,  so  far  as  fighting  went,  the  Ameri- 
cans had  the  better  of  it.  If  the  object  to  be  gained 
was  the  capture  of  that  hill,  Americans  say  they 
captured  it  and  three  times  repelled  the  assault  of 
their  British  opponents,  and  they  only  retired  of  their 
75fi 


THE   EVENTS   OF   19U 
own  volition  and  in  obe.licnce  to  a  catuious  ,K>licy 
B  .    If  tlie  object  m  sifjlu  was  to  hold  tl,e  hill    tlfo 
British  came  out  ahead. 

The  more  one  consults  the  voluminous  documents  c   ,    . 
reports,   orders,   diaries,   and   n,en,oranda  T^«t  - '- 

me,  especia%  Colonel  Cruikshank's  collection  of"'     , 
the  period  s  official  returns,  the  more  one  is  amaze.  '"-- 
at  the  discrepancies  in  the  stories  of  the  batt  e  ^ 
movements,  the  number  of  men  in  each  TZy   etc 

contused.     Tlie  reports  of  Drummond  declare  that 
the  possession  of  the  hill   was  wrested   from  the 

disorder      Brown    and    Scott    assert    that    the 

11    was    relinquished    to   the    British    l,ecauL   of 

the    Americans'    exhaustion,    the    retirem^t    w-^s 

BSr-^e^^i-sr"'^^^^-^ 

^es.,^tthSn^tVha-rS.? 
«llj  :h.  America,,  |„a  i|„  ^ij^,  „     jL"^  „ 

led.    There  is  no  need  to  exaggerate  either  the  nun,^ 

guns,  b„t  thefire  kept  uTnlhV  ''  "'"  °^  """'"  °'  ""'■ 
war.  appeared  the'^hadZtTn  IbLTor "  tt '  "  ^"f" 
we  found  them  nprt  »,„     ■  ,  ^  '"<''"  off.  for 

ta.e„...    ^- l.reurcorL™.''''-  ^^'  '"^^  "^^  -" 
757 


The 
heavy 

casualties 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANAD\ 

Ijers  or  the  advantages  of  either  army.  In  all  the 
essentials  of  s|K)rt  or  war.  it  seems  to  mc  that  the 
battle  of  Lundy's  Lane  was  a  draw.  It  seems  to  me 
childish  to  continue  to  aptate  this  question  as  to 
the  right  to  the  claim  of  victory. 

From  another  standpoint,  that  of  casualties,  the 
battle  was  a  very  even  one.  lirown  rciHjrtcd  a  total 
loss  of  853  men.  171  of  whom  were  killed,  while 
Drummond  reported  84  killed  and  a  total  loss  of 
878.  As  we  have  seen,  almost  all  the  Ameri  ^n 
generals  and  nearly  all  the  other  officers  were 
wounded,  and  Ixith  Drummond  and  Riall  were 
wounded,  and  the  latter  was  taken  prisoner.  The 
mistake  Brown  made  was  in  thinking  that  on  the 
next  day  he  could  regain  the  field,  after  having 
given  it  up  at  midnight.  Yet  Brown  did  order 
An.,Mci.s  Ripley  to  attempt  to  defeat  th-  enemy  the  next 
morning  at  daybreak.  This  meant,  of  course,  not 
only  no  rest  for  his  army,  but  a  night  of  re-forma- 
tion. However,  Ripley  made  the  attempt  and  got 
out  his  1,500  men,  more  or  less,  at  nine  o'clock  the 
next  morning  on  a  reconnoitring  expedition,  but 
by  this  time  Drummond  had  already  advanced  a 
mile,  and  Ripley  soon  saw  that  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  make  any  attempt  to  defeat  the  British. 
He  returned,  and  at  noon  made  his  report  to  Brown. 
Brown  seemed  to  assent  to  Ripley's  plan  for  retir- 
ing to  Fort  Eric,  and  that  evening  the  army  reached 
Fort  Erie  and  encamped  there.  Ripley  was  at  this 
time  in  active  command  of  the  army,  for  Brown 
and  Scott  were  l)oth  wounded  and  comi^elled  to  re- 
turn to  Bufifalo  to  have  their  wounds  dressed.  But 
Brown  was  not  satisfied  with  Ripley's  actions.  He 
was  sore  because  Ripley  had  left  the  guns  after  the 
758 


try  to 
retake  the 
guns 


Browa 

retires  to 
Fort  Hrie 


THK   EVKXTS   OF   18U 

US  reconna.ssance,  so  l,e  l,ad   sent   for  Briga.l.er ""- "" 
Oanios  from  the  Sackctfs  Ilarl^r  army.    There  ^'tl' 
consuleraW..  Und  blood  over  th.s  re,  reme    "fr "r 
Ch.p,>evv     and  J3rovvn  accused  R,„lev  of  c,     ard,  e 
bu,  afterward  withdrew  the  chargi.  'Uun^.TihtT.' 
madder  of  the  month  ot  Jn,y  an^  for  two.^eeks  m 
Aug^is,  the  American  army  remained  at  Fort  Erie 
forttfymg  and  entrenching  its  {K>sition. 

THE    BRtTtSH    BEATEN    BACK    PROM    FORT    ERIE 

It  Will  always  be  a  mystery  from  a  British  stand- 
pon,t  why  General  Drumtnond  d,d  not  ,.r^  ed  "1 
medjate  y  agamst  the  Ame;  ,.an  troops  a  C  Eri^ 
for  ,f  the  battle  of  Lundy  .  Lane  was  stch  a  pr.^' 
nounced  Br,t,sh  victory  as  General  Drunmld  a  ^ 

b.s  not  pi,.h,ng  forward  at  once.  There  was  another 
scheme   which   he   might   have   adopted;   in  tt 

Se^e:'S',h'T"'''''^.^^"'''"«"-*P^"^<S:^ 
tne  river  to  the  American  side,  tluis  ili.eateninir  to 

destroy  the  American  base  at  Buffalo,  and  com- 
pelling Games  to  withdraw  his  force  t^  that  ba  e 
Per  two  weeks  he  did  nothing,  and  when  he  did 

Tl/T'""""'  ■'  '■'^^'■"^''  i"  f^i!"'-e-    On  the 
gn  of  August  3d  about  500  British  troops  we  e 

ent  across  the  nver  to  make  a  iaiuling  between 
Black  Rock  and  Buffalo.  This  mav  have  Che 
advance  party  of  a  large  force  which  was  to  mike 

■e    fern     just   suggested.     When   this   force   had 
landed   they  were  met  by  240  men,  the  gtrrison  of 
Black  Rock,  and  their  assault  on  the  I-  -t-  u 
fierce  and  deadly  that  S^::  t^^::,  ^^^  ^^ 
retreat  after  a  loss  of  twenty-five  men.    Disc~d  """" 
759 


Pon  Kric 

hail  (wen 
crcHKih- 
ened 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

by  this  failure  as  well  as  greatly  irritated,  Driuil- 
muiid  then  ^.^cided  to  make  an  assault  on  Fort  Erie. 
The   three   weeks   whicli   had   intervened   between 
bindy's  Lane  and  this  attack  liad  been   well  cm- 
ployed,  as  we  have  seen,  hy  Gaines  and  Ripley  in 
coMipletmR  their  defense.   The  fort  itself  was  of  no 
consequence,  and  unable  to  stand  any  delcrniined 
attack;  but  by  constructing  earthworks  .seven  feet 
hiKh  and  a  stone  wall  on  the  left  which  brought 
that  side  down  to  the  water,  and  by  constructing  a 
siindar  breastwork   nearly  at   right   angles  to   the 
first,  there  was  a  very  long  if  not  exceedingly  strong 
hne  of  defense  to  be  taken  before  the  garrison  was 
ni  any  danger.    Drummor    had  hy  this  time  secured 
recnforcements  which  gave  him  about  3,150  rank 
and  file,  and  he  was  therefore  well  qualified  to  at- 
tempt the  assault.     The  attack  was  planned  under 
Drummond's  orders  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning 
Drum^^nd  of  August  15th.     So  confi<lent  was  Dnmimond  of 
success  tint  he  commanded  his  men  to  rely  upon 
the  bayonet  instead  of  the  rifle,  and  in  his  order  for 
attack  he  said;  "The  enemy's  force  does  not  exceed 
1.500  fit  for  duty,"  which  is  a  singular  allegation 
considering  his  high  estimate  of  the  Am.ericans  en- 
gaged at  Lundy's  Lane.     The  two  figures  do  not 
agree. 

Before  the  attack  was  made,  the  British  siege 
guns  which  Drummond  had  biought  forward  es- 
pecially for  this  work  had  been  booming  all  day 
and  most  of  the  night,  but  about  midnight  the  fir^ 
slackened.  This  was  taken  by  the  Americans  to 
.  itan,  as  it  certainly  did  mean,  that  the  attack  of 
the  British  infantry  force  was  to  begin  soon.  No 
better  notification  than  this  could  have  been  made 
7<Sd 


Nure 
victory 


Tht  attack 
*l  I  wo 
o'cloclc 
in  the 

morning 


THE  EVKNTS  OF  IBM 
even  if  it  had  been  sent  in  a  polite  note.  The  attack 
was  „,ade  with  gallantry  aVd  precis  .„  d','' 
monds  force  advanced  front  the  west,  attack  ' 
llie  western  face  of  the  fnrf  Ti,  '•  '"'•"■'^"'g 
bayoneted  or  <lri,en  ^^  ^  a  Dr!::,  „::„;"•" 
peced  them  to  k-,  but  when  it  amfto  tS  h " 
breastworks,  that  was  entirely  anoth  r  n,  '.  e 7  S 
"cr  approach  to  the  wall  the  lirk.sl,  n  e    w,th  a 

tl.eU-a..ovi,lere,in:;nt;iS,S,:^,/f':^,->j 

^r:sr:t^c5:he;-<-^ 

-ural,>ositionof:v'„ele^lL°:^-^^^ 

gage  nent      ri,e  .nttack  against  the  Donglass  batte'v 
on  the  extreme  r.ght.  was  under  the  leadership  of 
L.eutenant-Colonel  Drummond  and  Colonel  ScoH,  ,    , 
Colonel  Scott,  however,  was  killed  in  f  ront  of  2 -- 

agT,nst  FelrPr"'  '"  '''^'''  '"'''''  °'  continuing™-^ 
against  fort  F.ne  proper,  moved  over  to  the  Dou/ 

lass  battery,  and  by  their  quick  rush,  w  ether  by" 

accden,  or  m  the  confusion  of  the  nig  t    found 

theniselves  u>  the  northeast  bastion  of^Fo  t   FriJ 

and  took  ,t  at  once,  the  men  in  charge  beinA  II 'd 

~s^baSr'"^^T"^^'^'"'^'''^'^'^^-, 

the  fort      TIP  ''  ''"''"'>'  ""d^--  t'>^  gur-s  of" 

leat  "or  J         "f  '°"'''  "^'''x^-- advance  nor  re- 
treat,  nor  reman,  where  they  were  in  safety.     This 

761 


istioti 


Explosion 

kills  500 
British 


Brown 
again  in 
command 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

was  the  moment  when,  if  Drummond  had  known  of 
their  situation  or  had  been  able  to  bring  them  re- 
enforcements,   the   tide  of  the  battle  might   have 
turned.    Just  at  that  point  when  this  little  body  of 
men,  numbering  perhaps  500,  stood  in  this  precari- 
ous position,  an  accident  occurred  which  settled  the 
issue  of  the  day.     An  ammunition  chest  under  the 
platform  caught  fire  in  some  way  and  exploded, 
blowing  up  all  the  troops  in  the  bastion  and  bring- 
ing panic  upon   the  other   British   who  heard   it. 
Drummond  was  defeated  anyhow,  for  some  of  his 
men   were  retreating,  but  this  explosion   did   the 
business,  and  his  men  took  panic  and  retreated  in 
a  demoralized  condition.     Among  those  killed  in 
the    bastion    was    Lieutenant-Colonel    Drummond. 
The  total  number  of  killed  and  wounded  on  the 
British    side    was    905    and    the    total    American 
loss    was    only    84    men.     This    was    a    striking 
discrepancy    in    numbers   and    not   altogether   ac- 
counted for  by  the  explosion,  in  which  about  500 
were  killed.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  a  very 
severe  British  repulse.     The  only  success  that  they 
met  in  the  whole  affair  was  the  almost  accidental 
capture  of  the  bastion  which  turned  out  to  be  a 
crowning  misfortune.      Dnmimond   wrote  several 
letters  and  despatched  orders  showing  Iiow  acute 
was  his  disappointment  over  the  result,  and  he  im- 
mediately fell  back  to  Chippewa.     The  British  did 
bombard  Fort  Erie  a  few  days  after  the  battle,  but 
no  damage  was  done. 

Gaines  had  been  wounded  by  one  of  the  shells  in 

the  bombardment  after  the  battle  and  was  com- 

IJcUed  to  retire  from  the  command.     Brown  was 

still  suffering  from  his  wound,  but  as  he  distrusted 

76a 


THE   EVENTS   OF   1814 

mand  himself.     Be.ng  a  fighting  man  and  seeine'»""« 
that  Drummond   was  timid  about  anv  aggS  s.T;- 
movements,  he  was  ^•e^y  anxious  to  attacf  S  urn 
mond,  and  after  a  council  of  war  the  Amencau 
army  on  Septemkr   ,7th  mo^•cd   forward  ag 
D  ummond   who  was  then  in  Chippewa.     Altlfo  ,gK 
asted  only  a  few  hours,  the  battle  that  took  place 
that  day  was  a  hard-fought  one.     The  Anieri-m! 
captured  several  British  batteries,  but  ot     rT;)" 
were  not  able  to  take,  and  after  repeated  attempts 
^tey  withdrew.     This  was  rightly  claimed  byT 
Bntish  as  the.r  victory,  inasmuch  as  ,he  Americans 
did  not  succeed  in  their  attempt  to  capture  tl  e  Bnt 
.sh  posts  and  the  British  held  their  place  after   he 
Americans  had  retired.    It  was  also  a  severe  loss  to 
t^.e  Americans,  because  they  lost  three  e.xcellen  com! 
manders,  Gibson,  U^oo.l  and  Davis,  and  RipJey  w"s 
also  desperately  wounded.    The  Americans  engaged 
were  about  2,000  men  and  the  British  abotfS 
same   number.     The   Americans   lost   511    kHed 
wounded  and  missing,  or  about  one-fourU,  of     eJ 
number    and  Drummond   lost   609  or  about  on 

ve'r   t    rolT"""    '"r  -°"--'»"P0int,  how- ...,«. 
ever,  that  of  the  immediate  result  of  the  battle    it  "<"'"'■'- 
vv^s  a  gam  tor  the  Americans,  for  Drummond  soo    °"" 
after  retired  from  his  position  and  really  retreated 

iTre^IZ  T  ^'^■- '° '"'  ""^y  ^'y  "-"'^' 

itrf  n  "'P"^"  °"  ""^  Niagara  during 

1814  uas  favorable  to  the  Americans,  \\ith  an 
mferior  force  they  had  gained  command  of  Fort 
Erie  and  had  prevented  the  British  from  either 
akmg  that  place  or  carrying  out  their  purpose  0 
■I'aking  a  canvaign  on  the  American  side.  Tor 
763 


TilE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

this  result  the  aggressive  stand  of  Brown  is  largely 
responsible. 

THE     GREATEST     FIASCO     OF     THE     WAR 

™  LaT/  '^  *'°''y  °f  ^^^  Niagara  campaign  of  1814  is  not 
champuin  yet  finished,  but  before  we  proceed  to  it  we  must 
turn  to  the  other  theatre  of  war,  on  Lak?  Champlain. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  at  the  opening  of  this 
year  Major-Generai  Brown  had  been  c  Jered  to  the 
command  of  the  west  and  Major-General  Izard  of 
the  east,  Izard's  headquarters  being  at  Plattsburg 
and  Brown's  at  Buffalo.  The  troops  which  Major- 
General  Izard  had  on  Lake  Champlain  consisted  of 
about  5,000  regulars  and  some  militia.  Large  as 
this  force  was,  however,  both  Izard  and  Armstrong, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  knew  that  in  numbers  they 
would  be  no  match  for  the  troops  which  Great 
Britain  could  send  against  them.  England  no  longer 
had  any  troubles  in  Europe,  and  part  of  Wel- 
lington's army  which  had  captured  Paris  was  on 
its  way  to  Canada.  In  July  and  August  the  re- 
Conquerors  enforcements  arrived.  They  consisted  of  16,000 
°LlT^ch  "^"'  "'^  '^'■gest  force  of  soldiers  ever  sent  across 
Canada  the  Atlantic.  One  brigade  was  sent  to  Kingston; 
the  rest  were  to  be  used  against  I-ard's  little  force  of 
Americans  on  Lake  Champlain.  The  story  of  this 
campaign  which  we  are  about  to  tell  is  almost  un- 
believable. Even  with  all  the  records  before  us, 
it  can  not  be  adequately  explained.  It  was  but  one 
more  illustration  of  our  rule  that  any  expedi- 
tion that  went  either  up  or  down  Lake  Champlain 
was  doomed  to  defeat  if  any  opposition  was  made. 
Lake  Champlain  has  thus  been  the  graveyard  of 
reputations  in  North  America. 
764 


THE    EVENTS   OF   1314 

to  be  conducted  in  two  parts;  one,  of  course,  against  """"■ 
Izard  by  Prevost.  the  other,  a  .  aval  attack     Thl 
Amencan   fleet   had   been  created  and   was   dm 
manded  by  Lieutenant  Thomas  McDonough    a^d 
the    Bnfsh    fleet    was    commanded    by    Capta  n 
Dowme  of  the  Royal  Navy,  who  had  been  recom 
mended  by  S.r  James  Yeo  for  the  positio,"     AsTf 
the  discrepancy  in  the  size  of  the  two  armies  was 
no   enough,  fate  so  willed  it  that  nearly  all  of  tia' 
.ttle   anny    which    Izard    commanded    shot, Id    b^ 

in  some  way  Secretary  Armstrong  got  the  idea 
that  not  Pattsburg  but  Sacketfs  Harbor  was  o 
be  attacked  by  this  great  force  of  British  trooDS 
from  abroad  and  he  ordered  Izard  to  ^rleedTo 
that  point.  Izard  protested  in  vain  andTointed 
out  signs  that  indicated  a  descent  upon  Plattsb"  g 
by  the  British ;  but  all  to  no  aviil  „f  °"'^ 
emptorily  directe^  to  take  hi^  ^^  at^oLr;";;"  "^' 

tonor^^oFortEH  ^"/°  ''''T  ^^="-'  K^s^  ^^L. 
lui,  ur  go  to  1  ort  Erie  and  assist  Brown.    There  wis  '-  s«ci«tf. 

29th     leaving  abo,      ,,500   men   under   command "'"""" 

cot!ld'^,e''^nV'^  '^.°"'^'  P°'^'''''^   ^-i^^'oni   that 
could    be   contained    m   Armstrong's    tactics    was 
t      scheme  of  saving  that  army  from  bei  J  cap 
ured  by  ^       ^       .^  ,^  ^^^^^^^^  y  of  ufcoun- 

f)  where  the  danger  was  not  yet  great.    That  th^s 
765 


PrfTOst's 
vast  army 

of  10,000 

in  Jine 


:r  .%, 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
little  force  left  at  Plattsburg  should  not  have  been 
captured  is  one  of  the  odd  tricks  and  jokes  of  fate. 
In  the  first  week  of  September  the  great  army  of 
invasion  found  its  way  up  the  Hichelieu  to  the  head 
of  Lake  Ciianiplain,  and  then  push.ed  on  toward 
Plattsburg.     The  number  of  men  in  tliis  army  has 
been  variously  estimated,  but  probably  in  the  line 
of  march  there  were  about  10,000  men,  not  includ- 
ing the  reserves  of  about  5.000  men,  who  remained 
on   Canadian  soil      As  to  the  fleet,   reports  vary 
greatly.     The  Britisi     .uthors  a-.sert  that  the  fleet 
was  hastily  got  together,  that  'he  crews  were  not 
acquainted    with    one    another,    and    that    Prevost 
forced  them  into  the  figlit  before  they  were  pre- 
pared.   At  any  rate,  it  was  Prevost's  design  to  make 
a  simultaneous  attack  on  land  and  water  against  the 
American  force.     The  American  fleet  consisted  of 
four  vessels,  the  "Saratoga,"  the  "Eagle,"  the  "Ti- 
conderoga,"  and  the  "Preble,"  besides  ten  gunboats. 
The  British  fleet  also  consisted  of  four  vessels,  the 
''Confiance,"  the   "Linnet,"  the  "Chub,"  and'  the 
"Finch,"  and  twelve  gunboats.     The  total  number 
"f  &""=  in  the  British  fleet  was  ninety,  and  the 
compared    Americans  had  eighty-six.     Comparison  of  the  di- 
mensions of  the  vessels  is  not  possible,  because  they 
have  not  been  given,  but  there  were  a  great  many 
longer  guns  on  board  the  British  than  on  board  the 
American  ships.     It  was  long  guns  that  had  given 
Perry  his  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  there  was  no 
reason  why  the  same  weapon  should  not  have  been 
triumphant  on  l.ake  Champlain.     The  main  criti- 
cism that  could  be  made  against  Captain  Downie's 
fleet  was  that  he  "had  put  all  of  his  eggs  into  one 
Dasket."     His   chief   ship,    the    'Confiance,"    had 
;66 


Brittah  and 

American 

fleet 


1  and  Mc- 


THE    EVE.N-TS   OF   1814 
thirty-seven  guns,  thirty-one  of  which  were  lone 
guns  and  h.s  next  boat  only  contained  sixteen  guns 
On  the  other  hand,  tl,e  "Saratoga."  the  "Eagle" 
and  the  "r.conderoga"  were  all  nearly  of  the  same 
size,   the     Saratoga"   having  twenty-six  guns,  the 
Eagle    twenty,  and  the  "Ticonderoga"  seventeen. 
_t  will  thus  be  seen  that  as  between  the  two  fleets 
here  was  httle  to  choose.     The  American  fleet  had 
to  be  near  Plattsburg  in  order  to  afford  that  city 
protection  in  case  of  attack,  but  it  was  in  danger  of 
being  reached  by  the  British  batteries  from  on  shore 
a  danger  of  which  the  British  fleet  was  in  no  clan- 
ger, because  of  the  weakness  and  small  number  of 
the  American  batteries  at  Plattsburg.     But  while  Do. 
Laptain  Downie  was  an  able  commander  and  well  J"' 
trained,  he  was  not  a  match  for  the  American  leader     °""'"" 
.homas  McDonough  was  then  only  a  lieutenant, 
and  was  but  thirty  years  of  ?ge.     He  had   seen 
service  m  the  war  with   Tripoli,  and  possessed   a 
large  share  of  intelligence  and  common  sense  as  well 
as  naval  knowledge. 

The  arrangenjents  had  been,  as  I  have  said,  that  The  b.,„. 
both  army  and  fleet  were  to  attack  simultaneously,  ^ '"^r 
and  Prevost  was  to  wait  for  the  navy  to  come  ups'r.?'"' 
before  beginning  his  attack  on  the  town.     McDon 
ough  had  formed  his  vessels  in  line,  and  anchored 
hem  m  Plattsburg  Bay,  near  Crab  Island,  and  on 

fleetTn^'Tn'!,"''  '-'^  °^  ^^^P'^"^''"  ""=  British 
fleet   rounded   the  point,    Cumberland    Head     and 

anchored  about  300  yards  from  the  American.'  The 
Confiance  had  been  fired  at  by  the  American 
ships  as  she  was  making  her  way  to  anchor,  but  as 
soon  as  she  was  safely  in  position  she  poure<I  a  full 
broadside  into  the  "Saratog^."  From  a  quarter  past 
"""-      ''  Vol.  ii 


Mc- 

DotiiJiiKli 
seamarisli; 


Prevo.t-s 
cowardly 
ret rent 


THE    TERCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 
eight  in  the  nioniiiig  until  a  (|iiarter  to  eleven  the  bat- 
tle raged.    In  its  early  moments  the  British  suffered 
the  loss  of  their  commander.     Captain  Downie  wa.s 
killed  in  a  peculiar  way.     A  solid  shot   from  the 
"Saratoga"  struck  one  of  his  gun.s.  threw  it  off  its 
carriage  against  him,  and  he  died  in  a  few  minutes. 
After  two  hours  of  fighting,  however,  the  advantage 
was  largely  on  the  British  side.     The  "Prchic"  was 
driven   entirely   out   of   the   engagement,    and   the 
"Eagle"  had  heei.  compelled  to  seek  refuge  behind 
the   "Saratoga"   and    the    "Ticonderoga,"   but   the 
"Saratoga"  was  still  .standing  the  fire,  although  ter- 
ribly damaged.     It  was  then  that  McDonough  used 
his  sailor  craft  to  good  advantage.     Such  a  diversion 
as  he  tried  would  be  of  no  particular  consequence 
to-day   when   steam    vessels   so  easily   shift   about 
^  from  pi    -  to  place,  but  the  operation  of  "winding 
,,  ship."  by  which  he  was  able  to  swing  the  other  side 
of  the  "Saratoga"  about,  and  thus  bring  into  play 
a  fresh  broadside,  sealed  the  fate  of  the  day.     The 
"Confiance"  tried  the  same  operation,  but  was  un- 
able to  carry  it  through.    In  a  few  minutes  that  ves- 
sel was  compelled  to  surrender,  and  the  other  boats 
followed  her  example.    The  gunboats  escaped.    The 
British  assert  that  these  gunboats  fled  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  battle.     At  any  rate,  it  is  known  that 
their  commander  was  tried  by  court-martial  for  cow- 
ardice, hut  escaped  from  prison,  and  was  never  again 
heard  from. 

In  the  mean  time,  how  had  the  battle  l>een  going 
on  land  ?  Prevost.  with  his  enormous  army,  was  to 
\Kgin  the  land  attack  at  the  same  time  as  the  naval 
attack,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  move  an  ar-uy.  and, 
while  the  naval  battle  was  going  on,  the  advance 
768 


Tllli   EVIi.NTS   OF    1814 

column   under  Majoi-Gencral  Robinson,  winch  had 

been  ordered  to  Hank  the  Americans  and  carry  their 

works,   ost  ,ts  way,  ami  by  tl>e  ti.nc  it  got  back  on 

he  road,  and  was  ready  to  for<l  the  Saranac  River 

he  chee,-s  of  McDonough's  men,  victorious,  werc^ 

heard.     Robinson  at  once  sto|),>ed  to  find  out  what 

had  happened,  and  the  remainder  of  the  army  waited 

or  h„„  ,„  Head.     When  he  learned  'hat  the 

Bn  ,..h  were  defeated  on  the  water,  and  reported 

that  mtelhgence  to  Prevost,   the  army  can,e  to  a 

Meantime  General  Macomb  sat  In^hind  his  weak  m,.o.„ 
forjficat.ons    at    Plattsburg    rejoicing,    of   course,  :7"^"'' 
n  the  naval  vctory,  but  e.xpecti.ig  at  once  to  see  »:,'.•",;':] 
the  enemy  appear  and  take  his  forts  by  storm      But """"" 
le  waited  m  vain.    No  enemy  appeared.     What  had 
Happened?     ^othing,  e.xcept  tliat  Lieutenant-Gen- 
era   Prevost  had  turned  tail  and  fled.     .As  I  have 
said  before,  there  is  no  rational  explanation  for  his 
retreat.     It  defies  all  attempt  to  account  for  it      Pre- 
vost asserted  that  it  was  due  to  the  defeat  of  his 
navy.     As  if  the  shattered  and  broken  ships  under 
McDonough  could  make  any  serious  trouble  with 
h.s  niimense  force  of  vetrans.  le.l  by  competent  com- 
manders, equipped  with  great  guns,  and  large  stores 
of  ammunition  and  provisions!     It  was  almost  the 
worst  fiasco  in  all  history.   When  McDonough  heard 
that  Prevost  had  retreated,  he  would  not  believe  it 
i-roi7i  that  moment  Prevost 's  fate  in  Canada  was 
sealed.   His  officers  and  their  men  were  beside  them-  „„,„„ 
selves  with  rage.     Sir  James  Yeo  wrote  a  letter  to — 
the  admiralty,  fixing  the  blame  for  Downie's  de- ?:'' "" 
teat  upon  Prevost,  declaring  that  the  latter  forced  """  "s'^ 
Dowme  to  fight  before  he  was  prepared.    The  quar- 
769 


)iard  luck 


He  Arrives 
at  DulTalo 


THIC    TERCENTENAKY    HISVJRy    OE    CANADA 
rd  bcuvcon  \cu  and  I'revost  resulted  in  ,hc  appoint- 
ment of  a  cour,-„,ar.,al,  and  ultimately  in  Pre"^,,-, 

THE   NIAGARA    FRONTIKR  QUIET 

We  left  General  Izard  with  his  4,000  troops  hound 
o  reheve  Sactetts  Harbor,  whieh  he  and  ever" 

IxKly  else  except  Armstrong,  at  Washington  knev 
ee.  e,l  no  rehef.     By  the  tnne  he  reached  SacketTI 

essarv  a  id  learned  that  another  man.  Macoml,  had 
«a,.d  whatever  credit  there  was  for  the  de  se  of 
riatLs hurg.  So  from  Sacketfs  Harbor  he  wen  to 
tbe  ^,agara  frontier.  There  he  found  that  Brown 
had  not  waned  to  be  reenforced  at  Fort  Erfe  bm 
had.  as  we  already  know,  himself  made  a  sortie 
So  no  part.cular  glory  attended  hard  there.  He  thus 
fell   between   two  stools,   and    the   whole   inci den 

ber  an  ML,n     ,/^"'' ."^'^'^'^  =»'  B"ff=>lo  in  Septem- 
ber, ami,  bemg  Brown  s  superior  in  rank,  took  charge 

A(,l    ,,        '   ^"'   "'   ^"'^^'■^  ^"d   '"   i'on    Erie 
After  the  repulse  of  the  American  sortie  by  Drum 
mond,  the  latter's  army  was  encamped  at  ChippewT- 
i    was  not  ,n  first-class  condition  ^  this  tim     and 
was  almost  in  a  demoralized  state.     J'rovision;  had 
been  very  scarce   throughout   the  year,   desmi  ns 
were  frequent,  and  the  commander  was  m«htan' 
retiring  to  Burlington  Heights  or  York      O^'a"^ 
count  of  the  proximity  of  Drunimond's  army,  and 
h.    own  desire  to  gain  some  renown  out  of  all  this 
fighting,  Izard  started  out  on  October  ,3th  to  engage    " 
Drummond  s  arrny  at  Chippewa.     Bm  thre    days 
later,  on  the  news  that  Chauncey  would  not  cL 
770 


The 
burninit 
of  tt"j,li. 


Tin:    EVK.STS   Ol'    1H14 

operate,  he  al)an.lone.l  the  ex,,iMliti,m  without  a  fieht  A».,ic.r. 
.■in.l  rctiu-ncl  t,>  l',,,!  Cii...     A  short  time  later   or""" 
o.,  Xoven.kr  .,th,  l,e  blew  iip  Fort  ICric  and  reti'rcl  til";.,. 
for  winter  quarters  to  Huffalo.     Tlius  at  the  close 
of  the  campaign  of   1814  the  Americans  held  no 
Canadian    post    except    the    one    at    Anilierstburc 
where  there  had  U-en  no  hostilities'lor  almost  two 
years.       I  his    ends    the    story    of   the    hghtme    m 
Canada.  '^ 

THE   war's   finale 

As  the  reader  has  observed,  it  has  been  my  inten- 
tion to  deal  only  with  those  events  .  f  the  War  of 
181.'  in  which  Canada  had  a  vital  interest.  Tt  is 
therefore  not  within  my  province  to  descritje  the 
campaign  in  1814  „hich  the  British  ma.le  against 
the  Atlantic  seaboard,  particularly  Washington  an.l 
Baltimore. 

Inirthermore,  the  story  of  the  wanton  destniction 
of  the   Capitol  and   the   White  J-Iouse   by   British 
troops  IS  not  one  that  can  be  told  fairly  and  in- 
terestingly unless  at  considerable  length.    So   for 
those  two  reasons  it  is  not  given  here.     The  affair 
was  not  creditable  either  to  the  Americans  or  to 
the  British.     But  one  figure  apix^.irs  in  that  Wash- 
ington campaign  which  we  will  recognize.     Winder 
who  was  himself  so  incompetent  at  Stoney  Creek' 
gave  another  exhibition  of  the  same  quality  in  his 
alleged   defense   of   Washington.      The   attack  on 
Baltimore,  as  we  all  know,  was  a  failure,  resulting 
m  the  death   of  General    Ross,   the   British   com- 
mander.    Its  only  other  result  was  the  composition 
of  the  American  national  air,  "The  Star-Spangled 
Banner,     which  was  written  by  Francis  Scott  Key 
771 


Greai 

BrUlsh 


J' 


THE    TF.RCENTENARY    HISTORY    OF    CANADA 

•luring  the  time  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Henry 
at  Baltimore. 

„.,...„  ^°  =>'■'"  ■'  's  no'  necessary  for  us  to  describe  in 

ri.„(o,c..   any  detail  the  various  naval  conflicts  in   1814    and 
°Z\1'  ''"^  f"''"'-'^  "f  '''«-•  liritish  expe<lit.on  against   New 
Orleans  invlcr  General  Pakcnham,  which  was  de- 
feated by  (ieneral  Jackson  ui  January.   1815      All 
through  the  fall  and  winter  of  1814-15  reeiiforce- 
ments  poured  into  Canada  from  Great  Britain  until 
there  were  27.000  British  regulars  and  an  immense 
ordnance  at  Kmgston.  ready  to  make  the  long  con- 
templated attack  on  Sacketts  Harbor,  with  its  naval 
station  and   army  stores,  when   navigation  should 
open  m  the  sprmg.     But  as  we  are  all  well  aware 
this  despatch  of  troops  was  useless.     The  treaty  of 
peace  was  signed  while  some  of  them  were  on  the 
way. 


-72 


:anada 

:)rt  Henry 

escribe  in 
1814.  and 
inst  New 
was  (le- 
815.  All 
eenforce- 
tain  until 
immense 
long  con- 
its  naval 
n  should 
II  aware, 
treaty  of 
e  on  the 


